Delta Air Lines announced Monday that it is postponing the launch of its Atlanta–Riyadh flights, pushing the first nonstop service to Saudi Arabia by a U.S. airline from Oct. 23, 2026, back to March 2027, after a week of deadly Houthi attacks on Riyadh’s airport.
The route, announced in October 2025 and set to be flown on an Airbus A350-900 — daily during the opening week, then three times a week — is built around Delta’s strategic partnership with Saudi-backed startup Riyadh Air, under which Delta is Riyadh Air’s exclusive partner in North America and Riyadh Air is Delta’s exclusive partner in Riyadh and beyond. Saudi Arabia remains, in Delta’s words, an important market it is committed to serving for the long term.
“The safety and security of our customers and employees always come first and continue to guide our operational decisions.”
The decision follows a spate of attacks over the past week on King Khalid International Airport by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, including an Oct. 10 attack that killed 13 people and injured more than 300, and a further attack on Oct. 11 that also caused a fatality. The incidents damaged aircraft and disrupted operations; the airport was expected to remain closed until Oct. 17 under an aviation notice issued Oct. 12, and the Federal Aviation Administration has advised U.S. carriers to exercise caution when operating to or over Saudi Arabia. Delta said it remains in close contact with government and aviation partners, including Saudi Arabia and Riyadh Air, as it monitors the situation.
Delta has not confirmed a specific March date, and the final launch will depend on how the regional security picture develops. Passengers booked on the affected flights can review rebooking and refund options through the airline, which has issued a travel waiver for the route. For now, the first U.S. nonstop to the Saudi capital waits on the security situation — not on demand.
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