A total of 141 flights from Dhaka to Riyadh and Dammam in Saudi Arabia have been cancelled, affecting 21,933 passengers.

According to sources at the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) on Friday night (October 23), 66 direct flights and 75 transit flights were cancelled between October 10 and Friday night.

CAAB said the cancelled direct flights included 27 operated by Biman Bangladesh Airlines, 10 by US-Bangla Airlines, 19 by Saudia and 10 by Riyadh Air.

Among the transit flights, 29 operated by IndiGo, 14 by Emirates, nine by Qatar Airways, eight by flydubai, seven by SalamAir, seven by Air India and one by EgyptAir were cancelled.

These flights were scheduled to carry passengers from Dhaka to Riyadh and Dammam via transit points in different destinations. However, the airlines did not carry passengers from Dhaka because the flights were cancelled in their respective countries.

Earlier, Riyadh Airport was reportedly closed following an attack by Yemen’s armed Houthi group. Dammam also came under attack. Following these incidents, Biman Bangladesh Airlines suspended flights to Riyadh and Dammam until October 17.