Saudi Arabia’s Aviation Ambitions Just Got Grounded

0:10Tasmin Lockwood: Today, deadly attacks ground Saudi Arabia's aviation ambitions, Delta hits pause on Riyadh, and India's travellers are spending more but skipping the extras. Welcome back to the SCIFT Daily Briefing. It's Tuesday, October 13. I'm Tasmin Lockwood, Skiff's climate and experiences reporter. Let's get into it. First up, Saudi Arabia's airports are under attack and the kingdom's aviation story has changed in a single week. Since October 5th, Yemen's Hufi movement has carried out a string of strikes on Saudi airports. They started near the Yemeni border, then spread to Abiy, Dhamam and the capital. Riyadh's King Khalid International has been hit repeatedly.

0:53Tasmin Lockwood: On Saturday, an attack killed 12 people and injured more than 300. As of Monday, flights at King Khalid remain suspended, with no timeline to reopen. That's an airport serving around 50 airlines and tens of thousands of passengers a day. What makes this different is that the Houthis have explicitly warned international airlines to stay away from Saudi airports and airspace. Air France, British Airways and Lufthansa have suspended Riyadh service, and Riyadh Air cancelled all of yesterday's flights. The US and UK have both issued strong travel warnings, which can affect insurance coverage. And the timing is brutal.

1:33Tasmin Lockwood: Later this month, Riyadh is set to host the Future Investment Initiative, the so-called Davos in the Desert, with Jamie Dimon and Larry Fink among the listed speakers. The bottom line? Saudi can repair terminals quickly. Rebuilding traveller confidence with no clear end to the conflict is the much harder job. Which brings us to Delta. The airline is delaying its new Atlanta to riot non-stop route, which was set to launch October 23rd and would have been the first US airline service to the city. Delta cited evolving developments in the region and hasn't set an exact new date, rather March 2027.

2:11Tasmin Lockwood: The route already had a demand question. Delta had been selling dirt cheaper wards to build bookings. And it's not alone. Singapore Airlines pushed its own RYAD launch date to late March and Cathay Pacific cancelled RYAD flights through January. So why does Delta want this so badly? United has Emirates and American has Qatar. RYAD plus Delta's partnership with RYAD Air was its way into the Middle East. The bottom line? Delta's Gulf strategy runs through So for now, it's on hold, right alongside Saudi Arabia's biggest ambitions. Finally, India is now Skyscanner's biggest market by users and the way Indians travel is shifting fast.

2:55Tasmin Lockwood: Searches from India are up 22 % year-over-year versus 17 % globally. Three years ago, about 80 % of Skyscanner's Indian traffic went to domestic trips. Now, it's nearly even. 52 domestic, 48 international. Trips are shorter and more frequent, averaging just 3.1 days, and they're booked about 28 days out. Think long weekends and quick celebrations. Here's the catch for airlines and hotels. Indians expect to spend more on flights and stays, but interest in upgrades is falling. And currency matters. About two-thirds say they'd switch destinations for better value against the rupee, which is boosting places like Baku, Tashkent, and Bishket.

3:38Tasmin Lockwood: The takeaway? Indians traveler wants more trips, not more extras, and every rupee has to earn its place. That's your Skiff Daily Briefing for Tuesday, October 13th. For more travel industry news and analysis, head to skiff.com and sign up for the newsletter at skiff.com forward slash daily.