Delta Airlines has announced it will delay the launch of direct flights from the US to Saudi Arabia as air safety regulators warn of continued safety risks, Al Jazeera reports.
The US airline had planned to launch direct service from its Atlanta hub to Riyadh on October 23, but postponed the route to March 2027 following deadly Houthi attacks on the Saudi capital’s King Khalid International Airport.
“Delta will delay the planned launch of its nonstop service between Atlanta and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, amid evolving developments in the region,” the US carrier says.
The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a notice to air missions cautioning against a “potentially hazardous situation” in the airspace around Jeddah in the western part of the Gulf kingdom.
“Threats could pose a potential risk to aircraft at all altitudes, including during overflight, the arrival and departure phases of flight,” the notice says.
