Ansar Allah website - Report -6 Jumada Al-Awwal 1448 AH
Jassim Mohammed Al-Budaiwi, Secretary-General of the so-called Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), announced the postponement of the Gulf-European Summit, which had been scheduled to take place in Riyadh on October 24, to a later date that has not yet been specified.
Al-Budaiwi attributed the postponement to what he described as the targeting of Saudi Arabia and the extension of the suspension of operations at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, as well as concern for the safety of participating delegations, as he put it.
In the same context, The Wall Street Journal reported that Saudi airlines had evacuated and transferred a large fleet of aircraft from King Khalid International Airport to other airports within the Kingdom, including Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah. The move comes amid the continuation of Yemeni operations, which are being carried out in response to the Saudi aggression and blockade against Yemen that have continued since March 2015.
The American newspaper noted that the number of aircraft at Riyadh Airport had fallen from 134 to 38 by midday Wednesday, amid extensive evacuation operations, according to the flight-tracking website Flightradar.
It explained that Riyadh Air had transferred four of the five aircraft that had been parked at Riyadh Airport to other airports, including Madinah Airport.
The newspaper also cited an insurance report indicating that one aircraft had been declared a total loss and five other aircraft had been damaged at Riyadh Airport, with a combined insured value of approximately $375 million.
Yemeni operations have placed considerable pressure on the Saudi aviation sector, coinciding with Saudi investments worth tens of billions of dollars to expand airports and modernize aircraft fleets. This comes as local airlines—including Saudia, Riyadh Air, and flyadeal—approach the renewal of their war-risk insurance policies next month. The continued closure of Riyadh Airport is further intensifying pressure on Saudi airlines and disrupting part of their daily flight network.
According to the American newspaper, Saudi airlines face the possibility of a sharp increase in war-risk insurance costs as a result of Yemeni strikes on Saudi airports, within the framework of the equation of “blockade for blockade, airport for airport.”
Yesterday, Reuters reported that organizers of the Six Kings Slam tennis tournament had announced the postponement of the event, which had been scheduled for October, with new dates set for December 27–30.
The tournament organizers attributed the postponement to what they described as serious security concerns following the Yemeni Armed Forces’ precision operations deep inside the Kingdom and the closure of Riyadh Airport to air traffic.
The agency explained that the event attracts some of the world’s leading tennis players, with participants competing for substantial prize money. It noted that the Armed Forces’ operations had disrupted sporting activities in the Kingdom, adding that the Asian Tour had announced it was monitoring the security situation ahead of the Saudi International golf tournament scheduled to take place in Riyadh next month.
