Saudi Arabia's aviation industry...

Passenger numbers up 15% as kingdom sees better connectivity, and much more to come

Saudi Arabia’s aviation industry is flying high in 2025, with passenger numbers soaring, networks expanding and airlines implementing bold growth strategies.

These factors have combined to see Saudi Arabia post a 15% hike in air passenger numbers in 2024, reaching 128 million, according to the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) in its Air Traffic 2024 Report.

Of those 128 million travellers, 59 million (46%) were on domestic flights and 69 million (54%) on international routes.

The number of flights across Saudi airports increased by 11% compared to 2023, recording 905,000. There was also a 16% increase in air connectivity, with the kingdom now linked to more than 170 destinations worldwide.

GACA has also recently changed regulations to allow foreign on-demand charter operators access to the Saudi market, with premium leisure airline Beond already saying it will make its aircraft throughout summer 2025 for on-demand domestic and international charter services.

Saudia Airlines, the kingdom's national carrier, will add 11 new destinations in 2025, and budget airline Flynas has expanded its network with two new African destinations, with three weekly flights from Riyadh to Entebbe, Uganda, and three weekly flights from Jeddah to Djibouti.

Talking of Jeddah, according to leading global aviation data provider OAG, the Jeddah-Riyadh route saw the largest increase in capacity globally among domestic routes in 2024, while the Cairo-Jeddah route ranked as the second busiest international route worldwide.

OAG also said that in February 2025, Jeddah overtook Doha to become the second largest airport in the region (with 2.46 million seats compared to Doha’s 2.42 million). Dubai took top slot, with Riyadh in fourth.

More expansion of Saudi’s flourishing aviation industry is in the pipeline. In July 2024, Flynas placed an order for 160 new aircraft from Airbus.

On top of that, new airline Riyadh Air is due to launch this year after delays with aircraft deliveries from Boeing. It has orders for a total of 132 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus, and intends to fly to 100 destinations by 2030.

Under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, the country aims to attract 150 million international visitors by 2030. The aviation industry is certainly doing its part to make that happen.

For more information, visit www.gcaa.gov.ae

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