Indian embassy in Saudi asks citizens to stay indoors amid airport attacks; 2 flights from Kochi cancelled
The Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia advised citizens to stay indoors and remain vigilant following Houthi attacks on airports in Riyadh and Abha
The Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia has issued a safety advisory for citizens to stay indoors and remain vigilant following Houthi drone and missile attacks targeting airports in Riyadh and Abha. In response to the escalating security situation, major airlines including Air India have cancelled flights to Riyadh, while India's Ministry of External Affairs strongly condemned the attacks on civilian infrastructure as completely unacceptable.
The Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia has issued a safety advisory for citizens to stay indoors and remain vigilant following Houthi drone and missile attacks targeting airports in Riyadh and Abha. In response to the escalating security situation, major airlines including Air India have cancelled flights to Riyadh, while India's Ministry of External Affairs strongly condemned the attacks on civilian infrastructure as completely unacceptable.
The Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia has issued a safety advisory for citizens to stay indoors and remain vigilant following Houthi drone and missile attacks targeting airports in Riyadh and Abha. In response to the escalating security situation, major airlines including Air India have cancelled flights to Riyadh, while India's Ministry of External Affairs strongly condemned the attacks on civilian infrastructure as completely unacceptable.
With Houthis attacking airports in Riyadh and Abha, the Indian embassy on Thursday advised citizens to stay indoors, remain vigilant and follow the instructions issued by Saudi Arabian authorities.
Smoke was seen rising from a stationary aircraft at Riyadh airport following the strike. The embassy has warned Indian citizens not to circulate or repost any videos or news linked to the ongoing events.
It added that a 24x7 helpline of Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayata Kendra (PBSK) is available on Toll free No. 8002471234. Indian citizens can also track embassy updates via social media on X: @IndianEmbRiyadh, Facebook: IndianSaudiArabia, Instagram: indianembriyadh and LinkedIn: Embassy of India in Riyadh.
The advisory said the embassy in Riyadh, the consulate in Jeddah and their outsourced services provider VFS will continue to function normally.
Two flights scheduled to depart from Cochin International Airport for Riyadh on Thursday were cancelled amid the Houthi attacks. The flights were identified as Akasa Air flight QP523, scheduled to depart at 7.55 pm and Saudia flight SV775, scheduled to depart at 9.40 pm.
Meanwhile, Air India has cancelled all flights to and from Riyadh until October 10.
Earlier in the day, the Ministry of External Affairs termed the attacks on civilian infrastructure as "completely unacceptable".
"India condemns the attacks over the past few days targeting Abha International Airport and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, which have resulted in civilian deaths and injuries," said the MEA, expressing solidarity with Saudi Arabia.
"The targeting of civilian infrastructure is completely unacceptable. We express our deepest condolences to the families of those who have lost their loved ones. We wish speedy recovery for those injured," it added.
The Saudi-led coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki said they have intercepted and destroyed two Houthi ballistic missiles aimed towards Riyadh and one towards Khamis Mushait.