flyadeal, Saudia Group’s low-cost carrier, has launched non-stop flights between Mumbai and Riyadh, marking the airline’s second Indian destination after Hyderabad and deepening its presence in one of its key international markets.
The Mumbai–Riyadh service began on October 3, 2026, flown by the airline’s Chief Operating Officer Capt. Abdulaziz Bahri alongside Chief Pilot Capt. Ali Hakim, and follows flyadeal’s entry into India just three months earlier with the launch of Hyderabad flights on July 3. The airline now operates the Mumbai–Riyadh route five times a week using its A320neo fleet, adding more than 7,400 seats a month between the two cities.
The schedule is built around connections rather than just the point-to-point route itself. Flights are timed for a mid-morning arrival into Riyadh from Mumbai, and a morning arrival into Mumbai from Riyadh, allowing travellers to connect onward to destinations across Saudi Arabia including Abha, Dammam, Jeddah and Madinah on a single through-fare booking, with baggage checked straight through to the final destination. The aircraft flying the route carry 186 seats in an all-economy configuration, with Airbus’s Airspace cabin interior, USB-A and USB-C charging at every seat, and larger overhead bins.
Sanjiv Kapoor, acting chief executive officer of flyadeal and executive vice president of strategy at Saudia Group, said India is one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing aviation markets and a strategic priority for the airline’s international expansion, noting that Saudi Arabia has become one of India’s top three largest international travel markets. He said Mumbai marks an important milestone in flyadeal’s push to strengthen its presence in India as the third-largest low-cost airline in the Middle East. Kapoor also pointed to the onward connectivity the route unlocks, highlighting flyadeal’s use of Jeddah’s Terminal 1, which offers direct bullet train access to Makkah and Madinah, and Riyadh’s Terminal 4, which connects quickly into the airline’s wider domestic network.
The route forms part of flyadeal’s broader international expansion as a member of Saudia Group, supporting Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 ambitions to strengthen global aviation connectivity and grow inbound visitor numbers through continued development of the country’s aviation and tourism sectors.