Air India and Air India Express Keep Saudi Flights Suspended Until November 14, With Free Rebooking to November 29

Air India and Air India Express flights to and from Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam will stay suspended until November 14, 2026, inclusive. The two airlines announced the extension on Friday, October 30, in a joint travel advisory posted on X, citing “the prevailing situation in the region.”

The new date replaces the one the airlines set six days earlier. Their October 24 advisory had kept Riyadh and Dammam suspended until November 7 and Jeddah only until October 31, so Jeddah now loses two more weeks and the other two cities one more week.

The notice first appeared on the Air India Express account at 4:12 p.m. India time and on Air India’s own account at 5:39 p.m., with identical wording.

Who can rebook, and to where

The terms cover confirmed bookings issued on or before October 30, 2026, for travel up to November 14. Those passengers get one free rebooking, subject to seat availability, for travel up to November 29, or a full refund if they cancel.

The rebooking has to stay in the region the airlines name. Air India passengers may rebook to or from any operational Air India station in Saudi Arabia, and Air India Express passengers to or from any operational Air India Express station in Saudi Arabia or Bahrain.

The advisory does not list which Saudi stations count as operational, and Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam are all inside the suspension. Passengers weighing that option should confirm a working route with the airline before they rebook.

Both airlines handle requests through their contact centers: Air India on +91 11 69329333 or +91 11 69329999, and Air India Express on +91 124 6935600. City booking offices also take rebooking and refund requests, the advisory says.

How the terms have narrowed since mid-October

This is the fifth Saudi advisory Air India has posted since October 13, and each one has pushed the restart back. On October 13 the airline canceled all three cities until October 17, then on October 16 until October 20, offering a full refund both times.

The October 17 notice, the first on Air India’s account to cover both airlines, moved the date to October 24. It was also the most flexible: passengers could start their trip from another Gulf airport instead, such as Dubai or Doha on Air India, or Bahrain, Kuwait, Muscat and seven other cities on Air India Express.

That Gulf-wide option is gone. Since the October 24 advisory, rebooking has been limited to Saudi stations, plus Bahrain for Air India Express.

Friday’s notice keeps that limit but gives every affected passenger the same window, up to November 29, where the October 24 version had split it between November 14 and November 21 by city.

The Indian airlines’ pause began after the strikes on Riyadh in early October. By October 17, when the Riyadh closure notice was due to lapse, they had already pushed their own dates further out. The October 21 attack on Dammam, which killed two people, brought the Eastern Province hub into the same picture.

Where IndiGo and Akasa stand

Air India’s group now lines up with IndiGo. IndiGo said on October 28 that its flights to and from Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Madinah will remain canceled until November 14, citing “ongoing airspace restrictions in the region.”

Airline	Saudi cities	Suspended until	Advisory posted
Air India and Air India Express	Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam	November 14 (inclusive)	October 30
IndiGo	Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Madinah	November 14	October 28
Akasa Air	Jeddah	November 10 (inclusive)	October 23
Akasa Air	Riyadh	November 30 (inclusive)	October 23

Akasa Air’s latest update, posted on October 23, keeps Jeddah suspended until November 10 and Riyadh until November 30, both inclusive. Its passengers can take a refund to the original payment method within seven days or move to another date at no extra cost.

What it means for travelers

Taken together, the advisories leave no Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo or Akasa Air flight on any of these Saudi routes before November 11 at the earliest, and Akasa’s Riyadh flights not before December.

Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport reopened on October 25 with its international terminal reserved for national carriers, AFP reported. In the same report, Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree called the airport “unsafe” and a “military target” and warned airlines against using it.

Riyadh had already lost most of its schedule before the reopening. Cirium’s count of Riyadh cancellations put the share of flights canceled at 86% over the 18 days to October 25.

For Indians stuck in the kingdom, the Consulate General of India in Jeddah says it is running round-the-clock control rooms in Jeddah and Makkah, ANI reported. It is also working with airlines on refunds and with Indian Umrah operators on alternative flights home, subject to seats and fares.

Neither Air India nor Air India Express gave a restart date beyond November 14. Going by the pattern since October 13, travelers booked for the second half of November should watch for another advisory before that date.