Taif missile intercepted, Saudi flights still cancelled

A Houthi missile aimed at Taif was intercepted early on 28 October, and UAE airlines' Saudi flights stay cancelled ahead of Emirates' listed Jeddah restart. The Saudi-led coalition said early on Wednesday 28 October that it had intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched towards Taif; Civil Defence issued early warnings for the Jeddah and Yanbu governorates and announced minutes later that the danger had passed, and no casualties or damage were reported, according to Arab News. On the evening of 27 October the coalition said two ballistic missiles launched towards Riyadh had been intercepted, and Civil Defence said their debris damaged a building, a construction project and a vehicle in the capital, with no casualties or injuries reported; Gulf News's briefing of 28 October counts five missiles aimed at Riyadh and the Eastern Province destroyed on 27 October, together with four drones aimed at the south.

The Houthis said they had hit the Ministry of Defence in Riyadh and targeted Abha airport, according to the AFP and Reuters report carried by Business Recorder; the Saudi statements reported only the interceptions. For 28 October, Gulf News lists every Emirates flight between Dubai and Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam as cancelled while its Madinah services operate, with the airline's Jeddah flights still listed to resume on 30 October and Riyadh and Dammam on 8 November; Etihad's Abu Dhabi flights to Riyadh and Dammam and its EY601 to EY604 Jeddah services remain cancelled through 5 November; flydubai's Riyadh, Dammam and Abha flights are cancelled through 29 October, and Gulf News found no status on its website for Dammam, Riyadh and several smaller Saudi routes, which it notes does not by itself confirm a cancellation; and Air Arabia's Sharjah flights to Riyadh, Dammam and Abha are cancelled with no date. Two flynas arrivals from Riyadh and one from Gassim were cancelled at Dubai.

The Indian embassy in Riyadh said on 27 October that limited flight operations have resumed at King Khalid International Airport, with flynas operating its India-bound services, and Gulf News's briefing quotes the US Mission as saying the airport partially reopened with some operations moved to Al Qassim; no statement from Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority on the return of foreign airlines has been found. Among other airlines, Air India's Riyadh and Dammam flights are suspended to 7 November, IndiGo's Saudi flights to 31 October, Philippine Airlines' Riyadh service to 29 November and Lufthansa's to 18 November. Residents travelling for Umrah should confirm their flight to Jeddah or Madinah before leaving for the airport, treat the 30 October Jeddah date as the airline's current schedule rather than a guarantee, and follow Civil Defence alerts while in the Kingdom, including in Taif, Jeddah and Yanbu.