Saudi Arabia Launches Flights Connecting Riyadh, Jeddah to Beijing

Riyadh – Saudi Arabia's national airline officially launched direct flights from Riyadh and Jeddah to Beijing on Sunday.

"In cooperation with the Air Connectivity Program (ACP), this move is seen as evidence of Saudi Arabia and China's commitment to deepening their cooperation," Saudi state media, SPA reported. 

The inaugural flight from Jeddah to Beijing has successfully taken place on August 4, 2023, followed by a direct flight from Riyadh to Beijing on August 6.

With these new routes, around 165 million people living in northern China now have easy access to Saudi Arabia.

It also paves the way for increased reciprocal tourism and encourages greater international collaboration between Saudi Arabia and the global aviation market.

The ACP, which serves as the Kingdom's air connectivity facilitator, played an important role in launching these new routes. Moreover, this move is in line with Saudi Arabia's commitment to enhance progress in the travel and aviation sectors.

"The launch of these new routes comes shortly after the 10th Arab-Chinese business forum, which took place very successfully in Riyadh and is an important development in our ongoing efforts to expand air connectivity," ACP CEO, Ali Rajab remarked.

ACP believes that additional routes to and from the Kingdom will be launched in the second half of 2023 and the first half of 2024, which will further strengthen the aviation network and international accessibility.

Efforts to expand air connectivity have yielded tangible results, with Saudi Arabia's global air connectivity ranking being upgraded by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The ranking rose from 27th in 2019 to 13th in 2022.

"In Saudi, we dedicated to expanding our network and contributing to the 250 goals outlined in the Saudi National Aviation strategy," Saudi CEO, Captain Ibrahim Koshy stated.

"Partnerships, such as with ACP, play an important role in achieving these goals. Together, we have successfully launched routes, including Birmingham, the United Kingdom, and Zurich, Switzerland, allowing us to connect the world to Saudi Arabia," he concluded.