Dubai and Sharjah flights cancelled after attack on Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport

UAE passengers faced flight cancellations on Tuesday after Yemen’s Houthis targeted Abha International Airport in Saudi Arabia with missiles and drones, disrupting services connecting the city with the UAE and other parts of the kingdom.

A check of flydubai’s website showed that two flights from Dubai International Airport’s Terminal 2 to Abha, scheduled for 10.25am and 4.05pm on Tuesday, July 14, had been cancelled.

Return services from Abha to Dubai and Sharjah were also cancelled, according to FlightRadar24 data. Flydubai flight FZ815 to Dubai, scheduled for 12.15 pm, and flight FZ811, due to depart at 5.55 pm, were among the affected services.

According to Air Arabia's website, flight G9195 from Abha to Sharjah, which had been scheduled to leave at 2.25 pm, was also cancelled.

FlightRadar24 data showed that at least 10 departures from Abha were cancelled between 11.50 am and 5.55 pm on Tuesday, including five Saudia services and two flyadeal flights.

Saudia cancelled three departures to Riyadh and two services to Jeddah during the period. Flyadeal also cancelled two flights from Abha to Jeddah, scheduled for 1.05 pm and 5.25 pm.

The cancellations followed a Houthi attack on Abha International Airport late on Monday, hours after strikes hit Sanaa International Airport in Yemen.

UN warns against wider conflict

The attack marked the first major escalation between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia following several years of relative calm.

The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on Monday, where officials raised concerns that the confrontation could develop into a broader regional conflict.

“Yemen and the wider region cannot afford another cycle of escalation,” UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Khaled Khiari told the council.

“We call on all actors to constructively engage in negotiations under UN auspices.”