Published: 12:48 AM, 16 October 2026
Biman suspends Saudi flights until Oct 18
Biman Bangladesh Airlines suspends its flights from Dhaka to Dammam and Riyadh until Sunday. -Agency
Biman Bangladesh Airlines has suspended its flights from Dhaka to Dammam and Riyadh until Sunday in the interest of passenger safety following ongoing attacks on airports in Saudi Arabia.
Further decisions on these flights and updated travel schedules will be announced in due course, the state-run carrier said in a media statement on Thursday.
Passengers with urgent travel needs can use Jeddah and Madinah international airports to travel to Saudi Arabia or return to Bangladesh, Biman added.
To meet passenger demand, the airline has deployed Boeing 777 aircraft on the Madinah route instead of Boeing 787s, increasing capacity by 148 seats per flight.
Moreover, Biman has arranged three extra flights on the Jeddah route.
Passengers have been advised to contact their nearest Biman Bangladesh Airlines sales centre for ticketing and travel inquiries. Alongside Biman, domestic carrier US-Bangla Airlines has cancelled all flights on the Dhaka-Riyadh route until Oct 21.
103 Flights Cancelled from Dhaka
A total of 103 flights operating from Dhaka have been cancelled or suspended as flight operations at several Saudi airports, including Riyadh and Dammam, were halted due to attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels.
The disruptions have left 15,779 passengers stranded.
According to Shahjalal International Airport authorities, 42 direct flights and 61 transit flights from Dhaka have been cancelled or suspended to date.
Among the cancelled or halted direct flights are 17 operated by Biman Bangladesh Airlines, 10 by US-Bangla Airlines, eight by Saudia, and seven by Riyadh Air.
Among transit carriers, India's IndiGo has been the hardest hit, cancelling 22 flights.
Emirates has cancelled 14 flights, Qatar Airways eight, SalamAir seven, flydubai six, Air India three, and EgyptAir one.
Yemeni Houthi forces have launched repeated strikes on Saudi Arabia's Riyadh and Dammam airports since last Saturday.
The attack launched on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport at 3:15pm that day marks the deadliest assault carried out in Saudi Arabia in recent history, leaving 13 foreign nationals dead and 308 injured.
Among the casualties, two Bangladeshi nationals were killed and 27 others sustained injuries.
Meanwhile, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels vowed on Wednesday to carry out further strikes against Saudi airports and oil facilities.
The threat came a day after a Houthi attack targeted the headquarters of Saudi Aramco, which sources said suffered severe damage.
The Houthis said that targeted locations remain legitimate military objectives, framing the strikes as retaliation for Saudi military operations in Yemen.
The escalation has raised fears that the broader conflict -- fuelled by tensions between the United States and Iran in the Persian Gulf -- could intensify further, potentially leading to widespread flight cancellations.
