Dashain gone, Tihar uncertain: Nepali workers stranded in Saudi Arabia as Houthi attacks disrupt flights

KATHMANDU: Rajesh Rai from Khotang was preparing to return home after three years in Saudi Arabia to celebrate Dashain with family. His employer had granted him a month’s leave and he had an exit-re-entry visa. He had booked an October 11 Air Arabia flight from Riyadh to Kathmandu via Sharjah. But a day before departure, Houthi rebels attacked King Khalid International Airport . Thirteen people, according to Saudi authorities, were killed and more than 300 injured. The airport was shut. After a friend told him that flights were operating from Jeddah, Rai travelled nearly 1,000 kilometres by…