Indians in emergency can leave Saudi Arabia via neighbouring countries: Embassy issues advisory amid Houthi strikes

Four Indian airlines - Air India Express, Akasa Air, IndiGo and Air India have cancelled flights to and from Riyadh till October 17.

The Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia has issued an advisory for nationals amid fresh tensions between the Gulf country and Yemen's Houthis. The embassy said that four Indian carriers have temporary cancelled flights to and from Riyadh, and Indians in emergency wanting to leave Saudi can use airports in neighbouring nations.

“Indian nationals in emergency who wish to depart Saudi Arabia may also avail flights available from airports in neighboring Gulf countries, particularly Qatar and Bahrain,” the Indian embassy said in a press release on Tuesday, adding that travel from other countries is subject to obtaining visa from there.

‘Stay indoors, avoid sharing videos’

Reiterating its earlier advice for Indians in Saudi Arabia, the embassy in Riyadh said they should stay indoors, avoid circulating or reposting any videos or news related to the ongoing events and follow instructions by local authorities.

“Embassy of India, Riyadh and Consulate in Jeddah and its outsourced passport/attestation services through VFS, are continuing to function normally,” the advisory read.

Which Indian airlines have cancelled Saudi flights?

According to the release, four Indian airlines - Air India Express, Akasa Air, IndiGo and Air India have cancelled flights to and from Riyadh till October 17. “Scheduled flights by Saudia airlines continue to operate from Dammam, Jeddah and Medina. Flynas is operating scheduled flights on Dammam-Lucknow sector,” the release said.

It also urged Indians to remain in regular contact with respective airlines and verify the latest status of their flights.

Indians who arrived in Saudi Arabia on a tourist or Umrah or business visas but had to overstay there due to the tensions would allowed to exit without payment of fines, the release said. “However, it is important that people whose visas have expired should exit the Kingdom at the earliest as soon as flights become available,” the embassy said.

The fresh advisory comes as Saudi's hostilities with the Yemeni Iran-aligned Houthi group persist. Air raid sirens were sounded and explosions were heard in Riyadh on Monday. The Houthis also said they fired a ballistic missile toward King Khalid International Airport, which has been hammered by a string of deadly attacks in recent days.

Poorva Joshi is a Senior Content Producer with nearly five years of experience in journalism. She covers Indian politics and geopolitics, with a focus on diplomatic relations, trade negotiations, and economic policy between countries. She has previously worked at India Today, CNN-News18 and India TV. Over the years, she has reported extensively on major national and international developments, including the Air India plane crash, the Pahalgam terror attack, India–US trade tensions, tensions in the Middle East, high-profile crime stories in India, multiple state Assembly elections, and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. She spearheaded the Bihar Assembly elections live blog, which drew over one million users to the Hindustan Times website. Her reporting on India–US tariff and trade tensions has consistently driven strong readership and engagement for the platform. In addition to reporting, she has spent a significant part of her career leading newsroom shifts, ideating stories, editing and fine-tuning copies, and seeing coverage through from planning to publication, alongside writing original articles. At HT, she received the Insta Award for being the top contributor to the HT News Team in November.Read More