Lufthansa flight to Riyadh diverted to Cairo due to safety concerns

A Lufthansa flight from Munich to Riyadh was forced to divert to Cairo on Friday due to safety concerns amid the conflict in the Middle East.

The captain decided to divert to Cairo after consulting with headquarters, said Lufthansa chief executive Carsten Spohr in Frankfurt.

"Safety comes first," he added.

According to Lufthansa, the Saudi capital's airport was closed at the time of approach. 

The fully booked return flight from Saudi Arabia is still set to take place, albeit with a delay.

The few passengers on the outbound flight disembarked in Cairo and were then rebooked.

The Airbus A350-900 was scheduled to land at the reopened airport in Riyadh on Friday evening to complete the return flight. It is expected to arrive in Munich on Saturday morning. 

Spohr said that such situations would be seen more frequently in the coming weeks due to the tense security situation in the region.

Up to 30,000 holidaymakers travelling with German tour operators were left stranded in the Middle East after the outbreak of the war in Iran last week.

The German government is organizing evacuation flights from Oman and Riyadh, while limited commercial services have resumed from the United Arab Emirates.

The affected Lufthansa flight was not an evacuation operation.