Riyadh Air brings forward debut London flight

• Date moved up after plane delivery
• Tickets on sale for UAE, Egypt and Spain
• Ten aircraft expected this year

Riyadh Air will launch its first commercial flight on Wednesday June 10, jetting to London in what is a major milestone for the Saudi airline startup.

The carrier has unveiled the inaugural destinations in a network planned to reach more than 100 cities by the end of the decade.

The airline, backed by Saudi Arabia’s $1 trillion Public Investment Fund (PIF), said ticket sales had opened for flights to Cairo, Dubai, Jeddah, Madrid and Manchester following the arrival of its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.

Services from its base at King Khalid International Airport to Jeddah will begin on June 14, followed by Dubai on June 18, Cairo on June 25, Madrid on July 17 and Manchester on July 23.

It marks a significant milestone for Riyadh Air, which has spent the past three years building an airline from scratch as Saudi Arabia seeks to establish its capital city as a global aviation hub under its Vision 2030 economic diversification programme.

The announcement comes amid hostilities in the region caused by the Iran war, which remains subject to a fragile ceasefire agreement.

On Monday Iraq and Syria temporarily closed their airspace for 72 hours over safety concerns following Iran’s missile strikes towards Israel on day 62 of the ceasefire, while Iran has closed airspace in the western part of the country until further notice, according to the news agency Tasnim.

The Middle East is expected to generate a net loss of $4.3 billion in 2026, according to the International Air Transport Association, as a result of capacity reductions, flight cancellations, operational disruptions and increased fuel prices pushing up operating expenses.

Riyadh Air had originally planned to launch its first London service on July 1 but brought the date forward after receiving aircraft earlier than expected. Three Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners have arrived in the kingdom, the first of an order for 72 aircraft.

“We have three aircraft now, the others will be coming in very soon. It’s expected that we’ll have 10 by the end of the year,” Osamal Alnuaiser, senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications at Riyadh Air, told AGBI.

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Saudi Arabia is targeting 150 million annual visitors by 2030 and has identified aviation as a pillar of its efforts to diversify the economy away from oil. The PIF predicts that the airline will contribute $20 billion to Saudi non-oil GDP and support more than 200,000 jobs globally.

Earlier this month Riyadh Air signed a deal with Air India covering potential codeshare and interline agreements as well as cooperation on loyalty programmes, cargo, technology and operational support.

The airline has received more than 2 million job applications, AGBI reported in May.