Tag Archives: flyadeal

flyadeal is expanding operations from its recently set-up Madinah base with the launch of three domestic routes, effective 1 March 2026. The introduction of scheduled flights to Jazan on the Red Sea coast in the southwestern part of Saudi Arabia; Qassim, known for its date farms, in the heart of the Kingdom; and Arar, an agricultural centre and capital of the Northern Borders Province, takes the number of domestic and international destinations operated non-stop from Madinah to 10. flyadeal already serves the domestic cities of Abha, Al Hofuf, Dammam, Riyadh and Tabuk, along with Cairo and Istanbul direct from Madinah’s Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport. Steven Greenway, flyadeal Chief Executive Officer, said: “Two months ago flyadeal established Madinah as our fourth operational base in Saudi Arabia to provide consumers with greater connectivity to and from the Holy City. “We increased our capacity by 40 per cent and are now adding a further three routes to quickly grow to 10 domestic and international destinations from Madinah that reflects our commitment to offer more choice and diversity. “Given the importance of Madinah as the second holiest city in the Islamic world and key gateway for pilgrims, our expanded schedule supplements flyadeal’s dedicated year-round Umrah and upcoming Hajj flights from several countries direct to Madinah.” The three new routes take flyadeal’s frequency up to 94 flights a week to and from Madinah. flyadeal operates an Airbus A320 featuring 186 all-Economy Class seats in a 3 – 3 configuration and spacious interiors on all its scheduled services. The airline has rapidly developed into the Middle East’s fastest growing carrier operating its young fleet from bases in Jeddah, Riyadh, Madinah and Dammam to more than 30 seasonal and year-round …

flyadeal scored an unprecedented 12 months of consistent operational punctuality topping the 2025 On-Time Performance (OTP) charts among low-cost carriers in the Middle East and North Africa. In full year data recorded by Cirium – the globally renowned independent aviation analytics company – flyadeal’s OTP averaged 86.54 per cent for arriving flights and 89.79 per cent for departures. Furthermore, the airline secured a near 100 per cent flight completion rate (99.84 per cent) – meaning the number of cancellations were minimal. The figures are based on 69,971 scheduled flights operated by flyadeal between January and December 2025. OTP measures flight punctuality within 15 minutes of scheduled departures and arrivals. During 2025, flyadeal also earned another record-breaking first, being acknowledged as the world’s most punctual airline – whether low-cost or full-service – in June, one of the carrier’s busiest months flying Hajj pilgrims to the Kingdom. Steven Greenway, flyadeal Chief Executive Officer, said: “This is an outstanding achievement that demonstrates great consistency and operational efficiency of the highest standards every month throughout 2025. As flyadeal continued to induct new aircraft into the fleet, launch new routes and handle complexity around Hajj and Umrah movements, we remained focused on delivering punctuality. “We pride ourselves on running an optimum and effective flying schedule that is safe and reliable, reflected by the hard work that Team flyadeal across the business puts into our operations 24/7. Deserved credit also goes to flyadeal’s wide-ranging ecosystem, including airport partners, core to building, maintaining and preserving schedule integrity in good and challenging times.” Greenway acknowledged as “astounding” the performance of flyadeal’s sister airline Saudia, which Cirium ranked Number 2 in punctuality among full-service global airlines for the second consecutive year. He …

flyadeal has introduced a raft of customer experience enhancements focused on convenience and flexibility with highlights including 7kg free carry-on baggage on its most basic fare bundle, ‘fly’. The value-added hand baggage incentive recognises the need for passengers who purchase the low-cost carrier’s most popular low fare packages, to take more essentials onboard when planning their travels. The new benefit applies to all flyadeal domestic flights across Saudia Arabia and international services operated by the Kingdom’s fast-growing airline from bases in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Madinah. In addition, flyadeal is relaunching other ancillary products to enhance customer awareness of its three tier fare bundle products – ‘fly, fly+ and flyMax. These include free date changes for ‘fly’ and fly+ bookings within two hours of making a reservation, and a small service fee for travel plan amendments up to 90 minutes before departure. And for those passengers purchasing flyadeal’s highest tier flyMax fares, benefits include unlimted complimentary flight changes up to 90 minutes before departure, and full refund on cancellations up to three days before a flight. Abdullah Adel Alahmadi, flyadeal Senior Ancillary and Loyalty Manager said: “These changes and awareness notifications are being implemented based on continuous consumer surveys and feedback on ways to improve the customer experience. “By offering 7kg free carry-on on our most basic bundle, passengers can travel with confidence of being able to avail the lowest fares knowing they can carry more essentials onboard. We also realise passengers sometimes need greater understanding of our benefits being more flexible, helping them make decision-making much easier, and taking the stress out of travel planning.” flyadeal operates scheduled flights to more than 30 domestic and international seasonal and year-round destinations in the Middle East, Europe, …

flyadeal is launching five routes from Madinah, its newest operational base in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The introduction of scheduled flights to Sabiha Gökçen in Istanbul and four domestic cities of Abha, Al Hofuf, Jazan and Tabuk, takes the number of flyadeal destinations from Madinah’s Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport up from three to eight. Until now, flyadeal had served Dammam, Riyadh and the Egyptian capital Cairo from the Holy city. The capacity hike represents a 40 per cent increase in the number of flyadeal operated flights out of Madinah to 88 a week, giving customers greater travel options. Two aircraft are now permanently positioned at the airport, which joins flyadeal’s three other operational bases of Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. To mark the expansion, airport officials joined flyadeal management led by Chief Commercial and Customer Officer Rogier van Enk, for a fanfare of engaging activities celebrating with passengers. Steven Greenway, flyadeal Chief Executive Officer, 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 supplements flyadeal’s dedicated year-round Umrah flights from several countries direct to Madinah, north of the Saudi port …

flyadeal announced the Holy City of Madinah as its fourth and newest base in the Kingdom. Two aircraft will be permanently positioned at Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport from 1 January 2026. flyadeal currently has operational bases in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. Domestic scheduled flights from Madinah will be launched to four cities across the Kingdom – the southwest coastal city of Jazan; Tabuk in the northwest; Al Hofuf in the country’s Eastern Province; and Abha in the southwestern mountainous region of Aseer province.  Sabiha Gökçen International Airport in Istanbul will become the second international destination to be introduced direct from Madinah, with plans for further expansion beyond Saudia Arabia over the next few months. The additional flights will increase flyadeal’s existing capacity from Madinah by 30 per cent to 84 scheduled domestic and international services a week. flyadeal’s current Madinah operations cover domestic services to Dammam and Riyadh, plus international flights to the Egyptian capital, Cairo. The carrier also operates year-round Umrah services from several countries direct to Madinah, north of the Saudi port city of Jeddah. Steven Greenway, flyadeal Chief Executive Officer, said: “With scale comes opportunities. flyadeal has progressively increased its fleet size to 43 which allows us to now position aircraft across principal cities including Madinah where passenger demand simply demands our resources to be spread out. Madinah was a natural addition as a base given its prominence as the second holiest city in the Islamic world that draws pilgrims from all parts of the globe throughout the year.” Almost 70 per cent of flyadeal’s 43-strong narrowbody fleet of Airbus A320s is based at King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital Riyadh; 11 aircraft are positioned …

flyadeal has taken another step to widen its distribution strategy by going live on the Amadeus booking platform giving travel agents access to the airline’s growing network of flights. Beginning with the domestic market – home to almost 4,000 travel agents accredited to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) – flyadeal will implement a phased rollout of the reservation tool to the trade in more countries over the next few months. When agents search for a particular route, the Amadeus GDS now displays flyadeal among the operating airlines. As a digital first airline, connecting with a global distribution system (GDS) is a significant strategic move since flyadeal launched its first flight in September 2017. flyadeal now operates over 200 daily scheduled services from bases in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam to more than 30 destinations across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and South Asia with a fleet of 42 Airbus A320 aircraft. Steven Greenway, flyadeal Chief Executive Officer, said: “Signing up with Amadeus is a historic step for flyadeal. GDS connection expands distribution of our inventory of flights and fares, and offers the wider travel agency community with instant access, convenience and booking capability through their desktop terminals. “Having scaled our operations over the years, building a strong domestic network of flights and increasingly moving into international operations, our business has evolved into more partnerships, including travel agencies which we see as a vital part of our growth story to complement our own direct booking channels.” Rogier van Enk, flyadeal Chief Commercial and Customer Experience Officer, added: “As we start off in our home market of Saudi Arabia, the Amadeus booking tool will be …

flyadeal has launched its much-anticipated non-stop daily flights to the Syrian capital, Damascus. With the start of three flights a week from the Saudi port city of Jeddah from 1 October, followed 24 hours later by the first of four weekly services from the capital Riyadh, flyadeal now provides a new daily air bridge between the Kingdom and Syria. flyadeal has been working tirelessly to secure the new operations following the lifting of international sanctions on Syria, which has for years been devasted by civil war. flyadeal management led by Chief Executive Officer Steven Greenway joined airport executives at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah for the launch celebrations. In Damascus, inaugural flight F3 741 from Jeddah was welcomed to a traditional water salute, with celebrations attended by officials including His Excellency Abdullah Al- Horyes, Deputy Ambassador at the Saudi Embassy in Damascus, and Fadi Al-Junidi, Director of Air Transport at the Syrian Civil Aviation Authority. Greenway said: “It’s a momentous occasion to finally launch our Damascus flights from two gateway cities in the Kingdom, long needed to help the many Syrians to travel back to their homeland and reunite with family and friends. “With over two million Syrians living and working in the Kingdom, the restoration of air links provides great relief and will support the economic redevelopment of Syria as the country embarks on rebuilding its infrastructure attracting much-needed investment from the international community.” flyadeal currently operates a modern fleet of 42 A320s from bases in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam to more than 30 seasonal and year-round destinations in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and South Asia. By 2030, in line with Saudi Vision 2030, flyadeal expects …