ISLAMABAD: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) temporarily suspended flights to Riyadh on Friday following Houthi attacks on Saudi airports, joining several international carriers that have halted services to the Kingdom’s capital amid escalating regional hostilities.

The suspension follows a series of attacks on Saudi aviation facilities this week, including King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, as the US-Iran war continues to disrupt air travel across the Middle East. Saudi Arabia is a major destination for Pakistani workers and pilgrims and one of Pakistan’s largest sources of remittances.

PIA had continued operating flights to Saudi Arabia even after suspending services to several other Gulf countries at the start of the war in March, making the latest decision a significant expansion of the disruption to Pakistan’s international air links.

“PIA temporarily suspends flight operations to Riyadh in view of the situation in the Middle East,” a spokesman for the airline said.

The airline did not specify when services to Riyadh would resume or whether passengers would be offered alternative travel arrangements.

Three people were killed in attacks on two Saudi international airports on Wednesday after Yemen’s Houthi movement claimed to have targeted both facilities. A Pakistani national was among those injured at King Khalid International Airport, along with five Saudis and two Egyptians, according to local media reports.

Riyadh’s airport came under another attack on Thursday, with reports indicating that an aircraft was badly damaged.

PIA had suspended flights to the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait on March 1, shortly after the US-Iran war began, but initially maintained its Saudi operations using Boeing 777 aircraft on longer routes.

The latest suspension comes as other international airlines curtail operations to Riyadh.

Germany’s Lufthansa Group said on Thursday that its airlines would suspend Riyadh flights through Oct. 16, while Air India announced cancelations of services to and from the Saudi capital through Oct. 10.

Saudi Arabian carrier Saudia accounted for 169 canceled departures from Riyadh, according to aviation data firm Cirium. Saudi officials also reported that debris from an intercepted missile had struck a kindergarten and medical complex in the capital.

Saudi Arabia hosts a large Pakistani expatriate population, many of whom depend on regular air connections for employment, family visits and travel home. The Kingdom is also among Pakistan’s leading sources of workers’ remittances, making disruptions to passenger services particularly significant for the two countries.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday condemned the Houthi attacks and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty and security under the Makkah Defense Alliance, a defense agreement signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye in August.

Pakistan and Turkiye agreed on Monday to deploy military forces to Saudi Arabia under the arrangement, underscoring Islamabad’s expanding security commitments to the Kingdom amid the regional conflict.