May 11- Saudi Arabian Airlines announced on Monday that the carrier had suspended flights to the US indefinitely owing to the presence of new volcanic ash clouds drifting from Iceland. "The decision to suspend our flights has been taken in order to guarantee the safety of passengers," Abdullah Al-Ajhar, Assistant Director-General of the airline said.
In this regard, all passengers on Monday’s Jeddah-New York flight as well as that headed for Washington were informed about the cancellation by telephone. “The airline apologizes to our customers for taking the emergency measure due to a situation beyond our control. It has put all its resources to help passengers affected by the emergency measure," Al-Ajhar said. Passengers have the facility of changing their booking.
Meanwhile, Al-Ajhar said he did not know when the flights would be back to normal. "Saudia has ordered its officials in the Kingdom and the US to offer all assistance and support to its passengers," he said.
Travelers in Europe are facing renewed flight disruptions as the ash cloud has started to move back to the continent.