Riyadh Air opens Dubai bookings with daily flights from June 18

Riyadh Air will operate daily Dubai-Riyadh flights on Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.

Last updated:
Nivetha Dayanand, Assistant Business Editor
Riyadh Air
Riyadh Air
Riyadh Air

Riyadh Air has opened ticket sales for daily flights between Dubai and Riyadh, giving UAE passengers a new direct option to the Saudi capital from June 18, 2026.

The new service will operate between Dubai International Airport and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, marking another step in the airline’s regional network build-out.

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Flights from Dubai to Riyadh will operate as RX0244, departing Dubai at 6.30pm and arriving in Riyadh at 7.20pm local time. The Riyadh-Dubai service, RX0243, will depart Riyadh at 2.05pm and arrive in Dubai at 5pm.

Tickets are available through the Riyadh Air app, the airline’s website and travel providers.

More choice for UAE travellers

The daily Dubai service strengthens air connectivity between the UAE and Saudi Arabia at a time when regional carriers are expanding short-haul Gulf routes and building stronger onward networks.

Riyadh Air said the route supports demand for both business and leisure travel between the two countries, while giving passengers from Dubai access to onward connections through Riyadh to London, Manchester and upcoming routes across Asia.

"The launch of our new service to Dubai marks another milestone in our journey to connect Riyadh to the world, and the world to Riyadh,” said Tony Douglas, CEO of Riyadh Air

“This route has been carefully selected to serve a key market for business, and onward connections to the rest of the world, aligning with our ambition to become a global airline and a significant contributor to Vision 2030. We look forward to welcoming our guests aboard to experience our distinctive Saudi hospitality as we connect these two great cities and continue to redefine the future of air travel."

Dreamliner service

Riyadh Air will operate the Dubai route using Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners fitted with four cabin classes, including Business Elite, Business, Premium Economy and Economy.

Business Elite and Business will feature fully flat-bed seats in a 1-2-1 layout, while Premium Economy will use a 2-3-2 layout with privacy headrest wings, additional storage and expanded surfaces. Economy will offer a 3-3-3 configuration with adjustable headrests.

Across all cabins, passengers will have access to Bluetooth audio connectivity, physical audio jacks and charging options. Business and Business Elite seats will include AC power, USB-C and USB-A charging.

The airline said passengers will also have access to an in-flight entertainment system with more than 500 movies, 600 TV series and 1,000 audio albums and playlists, supported by Panasonic Avionics’ Astrova system.

Loyalty benefits

Passengers can also join Sfeer, Riyadh Air’s loyalty programme, and become founding members.

The programme offers a Best Offer Guarantee, free onboard Wi-Fi, rewards from the first flight and a no-points-expiry policy. Members will also be able to share level points with friends and family.

Early Sfeer members will join The Founders, giving them priority access to bookings on new routes and other benefits.

The airline said flight schedules remain subject to change or cancellation due to operational, regulatory, safety or other circumstances. Passengers have been advised to check the Riyadh Air website or app and keep contact details updated before travel.

Nivetha Dayanand
Nivetha DayanandAssistant Business Editor
Nivetha Dayanand is Assistant Business Editor at Gulf News, covering aviation, financial markets and commodities. A business and financial journalist with a strong interest in multimedia storytelling, she regularly takes complex financial and economic subjects beyond the written word, producing explainer videos that make them easier for a wider audience to understand. Nivetha has interviewed senior policymakers, business leaders and global financial figures both on and off camera. Her past guests include UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Khaled bin Alwaleed Al Saud, a member of the House of Saud and the founder and CEO of KBW Ventures, Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund and Indian ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and N. Chandrababu Naidu. She has also hosted and moderated panels, conferences and awards shows, bringing her newsroom experience to live conversations on business, finance and the economy. An Erasmus Mundus journalism alum, Nivetha is drawn to stories that affect people directly and to reporting that gives a platform to voices that might otherwise go unheard. She was among the first journalists to speak to Petrofac employees in the UAE about unpaid salaries, broke the news of the planned demolition of Dubai’s well-known “Toyota Building”, and helped set the record straight on widely circulated claims that a giant replica of the Moon was coming to Dubai. More recently, her exclusive interview with EDGE Group CEO Hamad Al Marar revealed how the UAE-based defence group deployed its systems along the country’s shore border and established a geofence around the UAE within 48 hours of the February 28 escalation. Prior to joining Gulf News, Nivetha worked at ITP Media, where she helped launch Finance Middle East, a new publication covering the region’s financial sector. Her role spanned reporting and editing, video production, interviews and events. Across print, digital, and video, she focuses on finding the people behind business stories and explaining why those stories matter to the audience reading or watching them.
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