Riyadh, Oct 24 (IANS) Air India and Air India Express flights to and from Riyadh and Dammam will remain suspended until November 7, while services to and from Jeddah will stay suspended until October 31, the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia said on Saturday.

"Air India and Air India Express flights to and from Riyadh and Dammam will remain suspended until November 7, while services to and from Jeddah will remain suspended until October 31," the Embassy said.

The suspension comes amid continued attacks on civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, including on airports in Riyadh and Dammam.

On Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the Indian Embassy and Consulate in Saudi Arabia continue to be actively engaged with concerned airlines and tour operators to facilitate the early return of Indian pilgrims who are stuck in the country.

Addressing a bi-weekly media briefing in New Delhi, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that about 3,000 stranded Umrah pilgrims have returned to India from Saudi Arabia over the past week and more than 10,000 normal Umrah pilgrims have also travelled back to India.

"Arrangements are being under discussion to facilitate the return of other Umrah pilgrims at the earliest. Our Embassy and Consulate, they have been in touch with people who are stuck there. They are rendering support and service to them in collaboration with our volunteers, our community volunteers, and they are also running 24x7 control rooms both in Riyadh as also in Jeddah to assist Indian nationals who are there. And they are also issuing regular advisories so that they can be better informed of the situation on the ground," MEA spokesperson Jaiswal had said.

On Thursday, India condemned the continued attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, including the attack on King Fahad International Airport and Aramco's Shaybah oil field, while expressing hope that peace and normalcy would return to the region at the earliest.

The MEA said that one Indian was killed and two others were injured in the attack on Dammam airport, while another Indian national was injured in the attack on the Shaybah oil field.

--IANS

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