> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.thecontrail.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Jeddah’s Airport Has Paused Flights Twice Tonight - URL: https://www.thecontrail.org/jeddah-airport-flights-disrupted/ - Published: 2026-10-17T18:45:42.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-17T21:24:42.000Z - Description: Flights at Saudi Arabia’s second-busiest airport stopped for over an hour on Saturday afternoon, restarted, then appeared to stop again after an early warning alert went out in Riyadh. Saudi authorities haven’t said why. - Author: Zach Benitez - Tags: News, Breaking News, Saudi Crisis ****Update, 5:20 p.m. ET:** Departures from Jeddah appear to have stopped again. Flight data shows no planes taking off since about 4:10 p.m. Eastern, with only one landing since 4:51 p.m., after Saudi Arabia’s civil defense issued an early warning alert in Riyadh. No diversions have been reported. For the latest on Saudi Arabia’s airports, see our [Riyadh coverage](https://www.thecontrail.org/riyadh-airport-reopening-flights-permission/). ****Update, 3:45 p.m. ET:** Flights are taking off from Jeddah again. The first departure since 2 p.m. Eastern left at about 3:27 p.m., and others are pushing back from the gate. There’s still no official word on what caused the pause. Flights at Jeddah's King Abdulaziz International Airport, Saudi Arabia's second-busiest, appear to have been paused on Saturday night, October 17\. Flight tracking data from FlightAware showed no planes taking off from Jeddah after about 9 p.m. local time (2 p.m. Eastern), and only one landed in the next hour. More than 20 flights headed for Jeddah were in the air, many circling in holding patterns nearby, before arrivals began to resume shortly after 3 p.m. Eastern. Several social media accounts have reported that a missile from Yemen targeted the airport. Saudi authorities, the airport and Saudi airlines haven't confirmed that or given any other reason for the disruption, and Contrail hasn't been able to verify it. Developing · Jeddah (JED) ### What We Know About Jeddah's Pause Departures Resumed after about 90 minutes Arrivals Resumed after an hour Diversions None reported Official cause Not confirmed Since Oct 10 Riyadh's main airport is closed, pushing more flights through Jeddah. 2 p.m. ET Departures stop and inbound planes start holding nearby. 3:15 p.m. ET Planes start landing again. 3:27 p.m. ET The first flight takes off, and more planes push back from the gate. What to do Check your airline's app before heading to the airport. Contrail --- ## What We Know - **Departures stopped** at about 2 p.m. Eastern and hadn’t resumed as of 3:20 p.m. - **Arrivals nearly stopped for about an hour,** with planes from Cairo, Paris, Amsterdam, Doha, Bahrain and elsewhere holding in the air. Landings resumed shortly after 3 p.m. Eastern. - **No flights had diverted** to other airports as of 3:20 p.m. Eastern, according to FlightAware. --- ## Why It Matters Jeddah has become even more important in the past week. [Riyadh's main airport](https://www.thecontrail.org/is-it-safe-to-travel-to-saudi-arabia-riyadh/) has been closed to commercial flights since October 10 after attacks claimed by Yemen's Houthi rebels, so more traffic has been running through Jeddah. It's also the main gateway for pilgrims heading to Mecca. --- ## What to Do if You're Flying - **Check your airline's app** before heading to the airport. Saudia, flynas and flyadeal post updates there first. - **If you're in the air,** your flight may hold or divert to another Saudi airport such as Medina or Taif.