New Route of the Day (17 September 2026): Riyadh Air between Riyadh and Manchester
Riyadh Air inaugurated flights between Riyadh and Manchester on Thursday 17 September. The 5,125-kilometre route will be maintained 3-weekly, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays with the 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. The start-up faces no direct competition on the route.
Flight RX417 departs Riyadh at 01:30 local time, arriving in Manchester at 06:40 local time. The return service, operating as flight RX418, takes off at 08:40 local time, arriving back in the Saudi capital at 17:20 local time.
What they said
Tony Douglas, CEO at Riyadh Air, said: “It’s incredibly exciting to be launching our inaugural flight to Manchester, our second destination in the UK and 14th worldwide. Manchester is a key gateway from where our guests can fly to cities in the Middle East and Asia in addition to being a popular cultural destination for visitors from across our growing network. We look forward to welcoming guests to fly on our modern, premium aircraft and experiencing genuine Saudi hospitality, known locally as Hafawa.”
Chris Woodroofe, Managing Director of Manchester Airport, added: “We’re proud to connect people from across the North with destinations across the planet, so having a new route to a major global city like Riyadh is a big moment for us. What makes this even more special is that an ambitious airline like Riyadh Air has selected Manchester as one of its first European destinations – showing the appeal of Manchester and the North as a destination but also indicating the strength of demand for long-haul travel from the North. That is something we now have more capacity to meet than ever before, thanks to our decade-long, £1.5bn transformation of Terminal 2. Whether they’re travelling to Manchester from or via Riyadh, travelling to Saudi Arabia, or connecting onwards to other parts of Asia, Africa or Australasia, passengers travelling with Riyadh Air from Manchester can be assured of a world-class experience – both at the airport, and with the airline.”
Riyadh Air now serves 14 routes
Manchester becomes Riyadh Air’s 14th destination. It joins London LHR (daily), Jeddah (5-daily), Dubai DXB (daily), Cairo (2- daily), Malaga (3- weekly), Madrid (4-weekly), Kuala Lumpur (3- weekly), Mumbai (daily), Dhaka (daily), Islamabad (daily), Lahore (3- weekly), Bangkok (4-weekly) and Manila (daily).
Riyadh Air faces head-to-head competition on all routes except those to Madrid and Manchester. It serves the Spanish capital because the airline sponsors Atlético de Madrid and Madrid is Riyadh’s largest unserved market in Europe. Cirium data shows that Saudia served Madrid between 2020 and 2022 and briefly flew from Riyadh to Manchester in 2017 while continuing to serve Manchester from Jeddah.
