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Delta Air Lines’ planned nonstop flights between Atlanta and Riyadh face fresh uncertainty after another attack on Riyadh Airport (RUH) on Saturday, less than two weeks before the route is due to launch on October 23. Eyewitnesses reported hearing at least two explosions – one of which is believed to have struck a passenger terminal – leaving multiple people wounded.
Four people have been killed at the airport since Wednesday following multiple attacks by Houthi rebels, including a pilot with national carrier Saudia. Following Saturday’s explosions, the airport has been evacuated and all flights halted, while several inbound passenger jets diverted to other cities.
Multiple Wounded After Riyadh Passenger Terminal Blast
According to a Reuters report, many were wounded during the attack, which reportedly hit the airport’s Terminal 3. One witness described hearing a blast before seeing multiple people lying injured on the ground inside the airport. More than a dozen ambulances were seen heading to the airport, while medical helicopters were reportedly shuttling between the airfield and local hospitals.
Flight tracking data shows that all flights to Riyadh had been diverted or cancelled. This follows attacks on Wednesday and Thursday, which collectively killed four people and injured dozens more. The two strikes on Thursday also saw the hull loss of a Saudia Airbus A320 after it caught fire, as well as significant damage to airport buildings. The airport was also targeted last month, leading to a large fire at a fuel storage facility near the perimeter.
Delta CEO Says Safety Will Determine If Route Goes Ahead
Saturday’s attack came a day after 
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian admitted that the airline’s Riyadh launch was no longer guaranteed. Speaking as the airline reported its third-quarter results on Friday, Bastian said that the flights might not go ahead as planned, telling reporters, “Safety is going to make the call.”
Bastian was referring to the airline’s internal safety and security department, which will have the final say on whether to proceed. At the time of writing, Delta has not announced any change to the launch date. Simple Flying has contacted the airline for comment and will update this story accordingly.
Demand for the planned route has been a concern even before this week’s attacks. As Simple Flying reported in August, Delta has been offering steep discounts on fares due to lower-than-expected demand. The new service is scheduled to launch with a daily flight during its first week, before dropping to three weekly flights from October 30.
Delta plans to fly the route with its Airbus A350-900, which can seat up to 275 passengers, featuring 40 Delta One suites, 40 Premium Select seats, 36 Delta Comfort seats and 159 Delta Main seats. At around 6,320 nautical miles (11,700 km), the route will rank among the longest in Delta’s network if it goes ahead. It would also make Delta the first-ever US carrier to fly to the Saudi capital nonstop from the US.
Airlines Continue To Avoid Riyadh
Following the strikes earlier this week, several airlines announced they were reducing or suspending services to the Saudi airport, including Lufthansa Group airlines, Air India, Akasa Air, IndiGo, Philippine Airlines and flydubai. Thursday’s attacks led to the most significant operational disruption, with Cirium data showing that 169 of 378 scheduled departures from Riyadh had been cancelled.
Although the airport had resumed flights by Friday, Saturday’s attack has led to another wave of cancellations. With the strikes hitting the airport just hours ago, the full operational impact will not be clear until later today. The airport has urged passengers to contact their airlines and check their flight status before traveling.
With Riyadh now hit repeatedly over just a matter of days, Delta faces a growing dilemma in deciding whether to proceed with one of its most significant new international routes. The fact that a passenger terminal was hit and casualties were reported among travelers will make it increasingly difficult for Delta to justify launching as planned, particularly as other carriers continue to suspend flights to the Saudi capital.
