Flyadeal launches 5 routes from new Madinah base

Saudi Arabia’s low-cost airline Flyadeal has launched five new routes from Madinah, its newest operational base in the kingdom, adding direct connections to Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport alongside four cities within Saudi. 

 

The new domestic services broaden Madinah’s reach across the kingdom, linking the Holy City with the southwest coastal hub of Jazan, Tabuk in the northwest, Al Hofuf in the Eastern Province and Abha in the mountainous Aseer region. 

 

With these additions, Flyadeal’s network from Madinah’s Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport has grown from three to eight destinations, with 88 weekly flights representing a 40% increase in capacity from the Holy City. This comes as pilgrim tourism to Madinah continues to rise in 2025, with the city welcoming more than 6.4 million visitors in the first quarter alone, including 4.4 million international pilgrims, a 10.7% year-on-year increase.

 

The carrier already serves Madinah with flights to Dammam, Riyadh and the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

 

To support the ramp-up, two aircraft are now permanently based at Madinah, which joins Flyadeal’s existing operational bases in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. The move underlines the airline’s strategy to build out a multi-base network across Saudi Arabia in line with national tourism and aviation growth targets.

 

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Commenting on the launches, CEO Steven Greenway said: “We’ve steadily built capacity from Madinah, but this expansion of five new routes at the beginning of the year is a statement of intent from Flyadeal to develop Madinah into one of our key operational bases.

 

“Having aircraft positioned in Madinah gives us the flexibility to quickly upgrade with more frequencies or add routes to a schedule which will continue to be built up giving our customers more choices and convenience of direct flights to travel within the Kingdom and beyond. Madinah was a natural addition as a base given its prominence as the second holiest city in the Islamic world and key gateway for pilgrims.”

 

The expanded schedule builds on Flyadeal’s dedicated year-round Umrah operations from several countries direct to Madinah, north of the Red Sea port city of Jeddah. Additional flights support what is already a high-demand market: Cairo frequencies have increased to 11 flights a week, services to Dammam have risen from 19 to 26 flights weekly, and Riyadh continues to be served with a five-times-daily schedule.

 

Flyadeal currently operates a fleet of 44 aircraft across more than 30 destinations and plans to triple its network to over 100 destinations and grow its fleet beyond 100 aircraft by the end of the decade. Recent route launches include new services to Syria, with three weekly flights from Jeddah to Damascus and four from Riyadh, as well as a new Riyadh–Lahore route.

 

For more information, visit flyadeal.com