Lufthansa Keeps Riyadh Off Its Schedule Until November 18, and Dammam Until November 30, While Riyadh’s Airport Stays Restricted

Lufthansa has suspended its Frankfurt to Riyadh flights up to and including November 18, 2026, according to the Lufthansa Group’s Middle East travel notice as of October 20. Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Edelweiss also keep Dammam off their schedules through November 30.

The new Riyadh date is a month past the weekend when King Khalid International Airport was reported to have reopened. Eurowings, the group’s low-cost airline, plans to return to Jeddah on November 12.

What Lufthansa’s notice says

The notice lists Frankfurt to Riyadh as a three-times-weekly route, with a footnote that Lufthansa has suspended it “due to current developments in the Middle East” up to and including November 18. Lufthansa’s previous Riyadh deadline was October 16, The National reported.

An older line further down the same page still reads “Riyadh through 7 October,” a date that has already passed. The November 18 footnote is the later date, and it matches what The National and Aerospace Global News reported this week.

Dammam, home of King Fahd International Airport, stays suspended through November 30 for the four network airlines, the same end date the notice gives for Beirut. The group says it is monitoring the situation in close contact with the authorities and that changes are possible.

The same notice shows the group going back to the Gulf, just not to Saudi Arabia. Lufthansa restarts Munich to Dubai on October 25 with an Airbus A350-900, Frankfurt to Dubai follows on October 26, and SWISS returns to Dubai from Zurich on October 27.

Is Riyadh’s airport open?

Not for normal traffic, and the official messages do not line up. Aerospace Global News reported that the airport reopened on Sunday, October 18, under two NOTAMs in force since October 17.

NOTAM A3650/26 requires prior permission from Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) for every arrival and departure, and A3651/26 bars airlines from planning Riyadh as a diversion airport, according to that report. AeroCorner found no GACA statement announcing the reopening itself.

The US Mission in Saudi Arabia went further in its October 19 security alert: “Operations at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh remain suspended.” It said the airports in Jeddah and Dammam are operating, with some delays and cancellations.

Riyadh’s home airline was still canceling flights. Riyadh Air’s own travel update, as relayed by Inside Aviation News, listed its London, Madrid and Manila flights among those canceled on October 18 and 19.

A permission-only airport is hard to sell a timetable into, because each flight needs approval and the airport cannot serve as a fallback if something goes wrong. A foreign airline also has to decide for itself when a return is safe and commercially viable.

Insurance is a live question. Six aircraft with a combined insured value of about $375 million were damaged in the attacks, and the strikes could push up war-risk premiums ahead of major airline policy renewals in November, Aerospace Global News reported, citing The Wall Street Journal.

EASA’s conflict zone bulletin for Saudi airspace, revised on October 9, is valid until November 16 unless it is revised again. The pauses follow a run of Houthi attacks on the airport, including the October 10 strike that killed at least 12 people.

Where other airlines stand

Lufthansa’s dates sit in the middle of the pack. Most Gulf carriers have canceled only into late October, while Cathay Pacific and Delta have moved Riyadh into 2027.

Airline	Saudi route	Suspended until
Lufthansa	Frankfurt to Riyadh	November 18 (inclusive)
Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian, Edelweiss	Dammam	November 30
Eurowings	Jeddah	Resumes November 12
KLM	Riyadh and Dammam	October 31 (inclusive)
Philippine Airlines	Riyadh	November 29
Cathay Pacific	Hong Kong to Riyadh	January 31, 2027
Delta	Atlanta to Riyadh (new route)	Launch moved to March 2027

Air France-KLM’s picture is less clear. KLM’s own Middle East statement, last updated on October 10, cancels Riyadh and Dammam through October 31.

For Air France, The National lists a Riyadh suspension to October 24, while Rus Tourism News, citing Reuters, puts the group’s Riyadh pause at November 7. AeroCorner could not find an Air France notice confirming either date.

Cathay Pacific’s date is not new: The Standard reported it on September 28, before this month’s attacks on the airport. Delta pushed back its planned Atlanta launch, first set for October 23, citing “evolving developments in the region,” One Mile at a Time reported.

Shorter pauses keep rolling forward. Air India had canceled its Saudi flights to October 20 before the closure notice ran out on October 17, and The National now lists October 24 for Air India, Etihad, Qatar Airways and IndiGo.

What travelers booked to Saudi Arabia can expect

Lufthansa flights to Riyadh through November 18, and Lufthansa Group network flights to Dammam through November 30, are inside the suspension. The group’s notice warns that its dates may change again as the situation develops.

Jeddah and Dammam remain the working gateways for now, though both still see delays and cancellations, per the US Mission. Its advice is to check a flight’s status with both the airline and the airport before setting out.