By: OrePulse

Riyadh's outbound international air cargo capacity fell by roughly a third within 24 hours this week, following attacks on Saudi airports that prompted several carriers to suspend services, according to data from Rotate.

Rotate data, captured on the morning of October 9, showed that outbound freighter and widebody passenger-belly capacity from Riyadh fell 34% in the 24 hours to that point, to 848 tonnes, compared with the same period a week earlier. Measured over 72 hours, capacity was down 26% against the equivalent period the previous week.

The decline was sharper when freighter aircraft are counted on their own. Freighter-only outbound capacity fell 10% over 24 hours, while inbound freighter capacity fell 77% over the same window, Rotate's figures showed. Over the longer 72-hour comparison, freighter-only capacity was down 32% outbound and 38% inbound.

The capacity drop followed two attacks on Riyadh Airport on Thursday. Saudi authorities said three people were killed and that a Saudia aircraft was damaged on the ground. The Houthi movement claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Saudia Group said airport operations had returned to normal by 6pm local time on Thursday. However, several international carriers, including Lufthansa and Air India, had not yet resumed their Riyadh services as of the latest data. Separately, the airports at Najran and Jazan, in southern Saudi Arabia, remain closed until October 15, while Abha airport has been restricted to daytime operations only.

The disruption affects one of the region's largest cargo gateways. King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh is Saudi Arabia's busiest cargo airport, having handled 576,600 tonnes of cargo in 2025, according to data from the General Authority of Civil Aviation. Jeddah, the kingdom's second-largest cargo airport, handled 458,900 tonnes over the same period.

The disruption has forced airlines operating through the region to adjust their networks. Cathay Cargo said it had identified alternative routing to maintain its lift after suspending some Middle East services, rather than flying its remaining routes nonstop. "Flying direct meant payload penalties," said Dominic Perret, director at Cathay Cargo.

Perret said the carrier expects a strong peak season despite the disruption. "We are anticipating a strong peak season," he said, adding that "one of our main challenges is having sufficient capacity to meet demand." To help meet that demand, Cathay expects to add an additional A330 freighter to its network next month. The carrier said demand to the Americas remains strong, while European markets are adjusting to new EU tariffs on ecommerce imports. Demand for shipments linked to artificial intelligence and data-center equipment is also supporting cargo volumes out of Asia, Cathay said.

The Riyadh disruption has coincided with a broader tightening in the air cargo market ahead of the peak shipping season. The Baltic Air Freight Index rose 5% in the week to October 5, taking the year-on-year increase to 25.5%. Spot rates out of India were around 70% higher year on year to the United States and more than 80% higher to Europe, according to TAC Index data from early October. Average jet fuel prices, a key cost driver for air cargo, were up 108% year on year as of October 2, according to the same data.

Elsewhere in the market, freighter capacity between Asia and North America rose 3.5% month on month in July and a further 2.9% in August, according to Cargo Facts Consulting. In Europe, a change to low-value import duty rules coincided with a 24% decline in ecommerce shipment volumes in July, Rotate data showed. Freighter capacity to Europe fell 28% over the same period, equivalent to roughly five thousand freighter flights a year, as airlines adjusted their networks to the shift in demand.