The Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) announced on Monday, October 12, 2026, that it is extending the suspension of operations at Riyadh airport, continuing safety measures across King Khalid International Airport to evaluate infrastructure damage, inspect runway surfaces, and ensure passenger security following strikes on the capital’s aviation hub.<\/p>\n
The operational pause coincided with extensive diplomatic consultations conducted by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah with senior international counterparts. The foreign minister held high-level discussions with the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, and Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani.<\/p>\n
The diplomatic engagements focused on containing military escalations across the Middle East, strengthening maritime defense partnerships along strategic waterways, and affirming collective international backing for the Kingdom’s sovereign defense measures against cross-border strikes targeting civilian infrastructure.<\/p>\n
GACA stated in an official communique that the extended shutdown allows technical teams, civil defense units, and aviation engineers to conclude comprehensive structural assessments across passenger lounges, ground logistics bays, and air traffic control systems in compliance with international aviation safety regulations.<\/p>\n
Aviation authorities emphasized that the safety of passengers, flight crews, and ground personnel remains the primary consideration. Operations will resume once technical audits confirm that navigational arrays, runway lighting, and taxiways are fully secure for commercial aircraft movements.<\/p>\n
– Completing structural surveys across terminals, maintenance hangars, and passenger concourses.<\/p>\n
– Verifying the operational integrity of primary radar networks, instrument landing systems, and communication towers.<\/p>\n
– Clearing taxiways and runways to eliminate foreign object debris that could endanger jet engines.<\/p>\n
– Coordinating with regional and international airlines to reschedule delayed flights and handle passenger bookings.<\/p>\n
On the diplomatic front, Prince Faisal bin Farhan reviewed regional security with EU High Representative Kaja Kallas in a detailed telephone discussion. The two officials addressed efforts to de-escalate tensions and shield commercial sea lanes from military confrontations.<\/p>\n
Kallas highlighted the necessity of joint action to counter regional escalation, underscoring the importance of expanding bilateral and multilateral naval cooperation. She noted that protecting commercial sea routes through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden remains essential for the stability of global energy transit and international supply chains.<\/p>\n
– Advancing diplomatic mediation initiatives to lower military friction in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
– Broadening joint naval patrols to protect commercial shipping corridors and prevent maritime interdictions.<\/p>\n
– Exchanging security intelligence to safeguard civilian infrastructure and global transportation nodes.<\/p>\n
– Reaffirming European backing for Saudi Arabia’s right to protect its sovereign territory.<\/p>\n
In separate phone conversations, Prince Faisal bin Farhan consulted with his Bahraini and British counterparts to coordinate defense priorities and discuss threats posed by Houthi cross-border operations.<\/p>\n
Both the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Bahrain reaffirmed firm support for Saudi Arabia, endorsing all defensive measures taken by Riyadh to safeguard its borders, citizens, and critical infrastructure. The ministers stressed that targeting civilian airports violates international humanitarian law and undermines collective security across the region.<\/p>\n
– Reaffirming shared commitments to maintain regional stability and shield commercial infrastructure from harm.<\/p>\n
– Condemning strikes on civilian transport facilities as violations of established international treaties.<\/p>\n
– Establishing regular diplomatic communication channels to manage regional crises.<\/p>\n
– Strengthening bilateral defense cooperation to support air and maritime transit security.<\/p>\n
The decision on extending the suspension of operations at Riyadh airport underscores the priority placed on safety by civil aviation authorities following recent strikes. At the same time, high-level diplomatic outreach to the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Bahrain reflects an active effort by Riyadh to mobilize international support, strengthen maritime security, and address regional volatility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) announced on Monday, October 12, 2026, that it is extending the suspension of operations at Riyadh airport, continuing safety measures across King Khalid International Airport to evaluate infrastructure damage, inspect runway surfaces, and ensure passenger security following strikes on the capital’s aviation hub. The operational pause coincided […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36890,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"subtitle":"","format":"standard","override":[{"template":"7","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"left-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"topbottom","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"1","show_view_counter":"1","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","show_comment_section":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"1","show_post_related":"0","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0"},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"jnews_post_split":{"post_split":[{"template":"1","tag":"h2","numbering":"asc","mode":"normal","first":"0","enable_toc":"0","toc_type":"normal"}]},"footnotes":""},"categories":[79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-regional"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36888"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36888\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36892,"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36888\/revisions\/36892"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}