Riyadh Air Announces First Destination: Daily Flights to London Heathrow Begin October 26th

Finally after many announcements, we have an official launch date for the latest airline in the Middle East to join the party. Riyadh Air is inching closer to finally operating its first flight. Also now also know where the airline's first flight will be bound for.

Riyadh Air Reveals Its First International Destination

It couldn't have been any other destination than London Heathrow. As for all other Middle Eastern carriers, the most valuable route is the one they serve to London Heathrow.

The British airport remains the busiest airport in Europe with strong social and economic ties linking the UK to the Gulf region countries. It only makes sense for Riyadh air too to launch this as its first international service.

However, there's more to this than only Riyadh Air launching flights to London Heathrow. Along with London Heathrow, by the end of the year Riyadh Air will be also launching flights to Dubai. That reveals the true ambition: tap into the lucrative Dubai to London route.

Riyadh Air's new flight to London Heathrow will launch very soon, on October 26th 2025. No details on the other hand on when flights to and from Dubai will launch. I am certain that that is a high priority for the carrier and we will have some news in this regard very soon.

Piggybacking off the strong and sustained demand between Dubai and London is a clever way of trying to jumpstart the business.

It all happened rather quickly for Riyadh Air which was only recently awarded a slot at London Heathrow and is looking to put it to use as fast as possible. So much so that the airline will be using its technical spare aircraft and not a new delivery from Boeing. That's how rapidly Riyadh Air wants its first flight to get off the ground.

Flight Schedule and Route Details

Along with the destination we also got some insights on how the new Riyadh to London service will operate and we now know the airline's IATA code too.

The airline will operate its flights marking them with the code RX. This new flight to London has been assigned number RX401/RX402 (outbound/inbound legs). Flights will operate daily onboard the airline's technical spare aircraft, a Boeing 787-9 named “Jamila”, while awaiting arrival of new deliveries from Boeing.

CEO Tony Douglas on Riyadh Air’s Vision

“Our commitment to begin operations in 2025 is being fulfilled. This rigorous flight program on Jamila allows us to fine-tune every detail, ensuring a seamless, reliable, and world-class experience. This carefully sequenced approach is our pathway to perfect, and we are now incredibly close to full operations with further destinations to be announced in the coming weeks as our new aircraft are delivered.“

Tony Douglas, CEO of Riyadh Air

What Comes Next for Riyadh Air

As mentioned above, more aircraft arriving and the Dubai route launching by the end of the year. Also there will be announcements coming regarding new destinations and routes being launched in the coming months as the airline's operations ramp up.