Delta CEO: ‘Safety is going to make the call’ on launching Saudi Arabia flight
A Delta Air Lines’ Airbus A350-900 aircraft is displayed during an unveiling event for Delta’s team USA livery for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, at the Airbus delivery centre in Toulouse, south-western France on May 2, 2024.
Ed Jones | AFP | Getty Images
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said his carrier is weighing whether to go ahead with debuting a flight between Atlanta and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, after attacks claimed by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have escalated there.
The flights between Riyadh and Delta’s biggest hub are scheduled to begin on Oct. 23.
Three people were killed in attacks at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport as the Houthis stepped up strikes in the country, Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said.
“Obviously, we were disappointed to see the news this week,” Bastian told CNBC in an interview. “Safety is is going to make the call.”
He said that the airline will let customers know of its decision soon. German airline Lufthansa said it was pausing flights into Saudi Arabia through at least Oct. 16, a spokesman told CNBC.
Delta is planning to operate the Atlanta-Riyadh flight daily from Oct. 23 to Oct. 30 before moving to three-times-a-week service. When it announced the route earlier this year, Delta said it would be the first nonstop service between the U.S. and Riyadh operated by a U.S. airline.
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