Several countries have warned their citizens against travelling to Saudi Arabia following a series of attacks on airports across the kingdom that have killed people and disrupted air travel.
Australia and New Zealand issued fresh travel advisories on Monday, joining the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Korea and Japan in warning against travel to parts of the country.
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade advised citizens to avoid King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and reconsider travel to other Saudi airports.
New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade urged its citizens not to travel to the Saudi capital’s main airport or the provinces of Najran, Jazan and Asir for any reason. It also advised against non-essential travel to Saudi Arabia as a whole.
The US embassy in Riyadh advised American citizens on Sunday to reconsider travel to the kingdom, citing the threat of attacks by Iran and the Iranian-backed Houthis.
Global Affairs Canada also advised against non-essential travel to all parts of Saudi Arabia.
South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommended that its citizens leave the country unless they were travelling for essential business. It also advised those planning trips to Saudi Arabia to cancel them.
The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office urged citizens to avoid travel to Jeddah and Dammam, as well as all airports except Medina International Airport, unless the journeys were essential.
The advisories follow five attacks on Saudi airports in less than a week.
One person was killed and 11 others injured on Sunday when a projectile struck King Khalid International Airport, according to Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation.
A Houthi strike on the same airport on Saturday killed 13 people and injured more than 300 others, marking the deadliest attack on Saudi Arabia in more than a decade.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for four attacks on Saudi airports before Sunday’s strike, which no group has claimed responsibility for so far.
King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and King Fahd International Airport in Dammam remain closed following the attacks, disrupting aviation across the Middle East.
Flights to and from King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah have also been affected.
More than 150 flights were cancelled and 374 delayed at the Jeddah airport on Sunday, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24.
Independent aviation analyst and consultant Brendan Sobie, based in Singapore, said it was too early to determine the wider impact of the attacks on regional and international air travel.
“As has been the case with the Iran war and the impact from that crisis on the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain, the impact of this latest crisis really depends on how long it lasts, how long Riyadh airport remains closed, and how long and to what extent are the restrictions once it reopens,” Sobie told Al Jazeera.
Credit: Al Jazera
