Houthi rebel attacks on airports and other Saudi infrastructure have taken their toll in human lives, leading to a third of flights from the country on Monday being cancelled or never getting off the ground.
Saudi Arabia has postponed its high-profile Future Investment Initiative, which had been scheduled for October 26 to 29, as several big-name attendees indicated they wouldn’t be showing up.
“The longer foreign carriers stay out, the more Riyadh’s events-led Q4 turns into a lost quarter for hotels and for business, sporting and leisure events,” our story says.
Skift Aviation Forum
Aircraft are sold out into the 2030s and margins are tightening, so the question for every carrier is where disciplined growth actually comes from. On November 12 at the TWA Hotel, JFK, the leaders deciding that take the stage.
The CEOs of International Airlines Group, Breeze Airways, and Embraer Commercial Aviation, with American Airlines, Air Canada, and Allegiant, work through profitability, capacity, and loyalty in one room.
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Travelers move among social feeds, search, AI tools, reviews, and supplier sites — often chasing several possible trips at once. New research from Skift Research and McKinsey & Company on what that means for operators.
Headlines
Third of Saudi Flights Canceled As High Profile Events Postponed
by Deepthi Nair
October 19, 2026
UK’s India Growth Plan Means Getting Travelers Out of London
by Peden Doma Bhutia
October 19, 2026
Watch or Listen
What if we’ve been thinking about AI all wrong? At the Skift Transatlantic Summit in Dublin, Ireland, journalist and entrepreneur Dylan Ratigan joined Skift CEO, Rafat Ali, for a wide-ranging conversation about travel, technology, and the future of the industry.
In this clip, Ratigan offers the clearest reframe of AI anxiety you’ll hear: artificial intelligence isn’t here to control every industry. It’s a foundational utility, like electricity, that makes everything better without running anything on its own.
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