Seven flights from Dhaka cancelled after Riyadh Airport attack

A total of seven flights from Dhaka had been cancelled by Sunday morning affecting 2,532 passengers following the closure of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. One of the cancellations involved Biman Bangladesh Airlines’ Dhaka–Riyadh service. Flights operated by several Saudi airlines were also cancelled.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), the flights were cancelled because the airport was closed. Biman Bangladesh Airlines had earlier announced the cancellation of its night flight.
The cancelled flights included Saudia Airlines’ SV 804, SV 805, SV 806 and SV 807, as well as RX 763 and RX 764. Biman's BG 339 flight from Dhaka to Riyadh was also cancelled.

On Saturday, US-Bangla Airlines flight BS 381 was unable to reach its destination and landed elsewhere. The flight was scheduled to arrive in Dhaka at 3:10pm on Saturday but eventually landed at 3:10am early Sunday.

In an urgent notice issued on Saturday, Biman Bangladesh Airlines said all flights from King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh had been suspended. As a result, the airline suspended flights BG 339 and BG 340 on the Dhaka–Riyadh–Dhaka route. Passengers who had booked tickets on the two flights were advised not to go to the airport.

Biman said it was monitoring the situation and would officially announce the latest flight status and revised schedules.

The airport disruption in Riyadh has caused inconvenience for passengers due to cancellations and schedule changes. Authorities have advised travellers to contact their respective airlines and check the latest flight status before leaving for the airport.

According to flight-tracking website Flightradar24, all flights bound for Riyadh had either been diverted or cancelled. A Reuters report said the decision followed an explosion at the international airport in the Saudi capital on Saturday.

Reporting the suspension of flights at Riyadh’s international airport, Reuters said the airport authorities had advised passengers to contact their airlines before travelling there and verify the latest status of their flights.

In addition to the cancellations, Biman issued a notice late Saturday confirming the suspension of flights BG 339 and BG 340 until further notice. Both services operate on the Dhaka–Riyadh–Dhaka route.