Saudi Arabia flight disruption: Dammam, Riyadh and Jeddah

On 8 October, dpa reported Lufthansa Group's statement that Riyadh services would stop through 16 October inclusive. The company cited developments in the Middle East. AP reported the same end date following reports of explosions at the airport. Lufthansa's traffic page showed the same end date on 11 October and, since 13 October, shows 18 November instead.

On 15 October, AP reports a continued suspension of Riyadh traffic and, in a separate report citing Flightradar24, disruption in Jeddah as well. Airport-wide reports must be kept separate from the notice for your own flight.

The rules normally cover departures from the EU regardless of airline, and flights from Saudi Arabia to the EU operated by an EU carrier. Check the operating airline and route; a group name alone is not enough. Connecting journeys need assessment of the booking and final destination.

For a covered cancellation, you should be offered a refund, re-routing at the earliest opportunity under comparable transport conditions, or a suitable later journey subject to availability. If you still want to travel, request re-routing before choosing a refund.

If the outbound and return flights are part of the same booking and the outbound flight is cancelled, the Commission's Interpretative Guidelines (C/2024/5687, sections 4.2 and 6.2) say you should be offered either a refund of the whole ticket, meaning both flights, or re-routing for the outbound flight. If you booked the return flight separately, the refund covers only the cancelled flight.

While waiting for the earliest re-routing, care may include reasonable refreshments, communication and necessary hotel accommodation with transport. These rights remain during extraordinary circumstances. Ask the airline to arrange assistance and keep receipts for reasonable expenses you must cover.

Security risks can be extraordinary circumstances. The airline must establish the link to the cancellation and that reasonable measures could not avoid the disruption. Fixed compensation is therefore not automatic in this case; each flight needs its own assessment.

The Commission's Interpretative Guidelines (C/2024/5687, section 6.4, on massive travel disruptions) state that a cancellation should be regarded as caused by extraordinary circumstances where authorities prohibit flights in a way that in practice rules out the flight, or where the airline proves that its decision was justified on grounds of the security or safety of the crew. The guidelines are not binding, but they make fixed compensation unlikely for these cancellations.