In an interview with Arab News this week, CEO of Dubai Airports Paul Griffiths confirmed that the world’s busiest international hub is set to reach new heights in terms of passenger numbers and capacity, with the launch of new routes, including a Riyadh Air link.
Dubai International Airport (DXB), which has consistently earned the title of "world's busiest airport" over the last decade, is forecasting a massive influx of 99.5 million passengers for 2026. This projection follows a record-breaking performance in 2025, which saw 95.2 million travellers pass through the airport’s terminals.
When discussing the growing impact of new routes and the continuously increasing capacity at DXB, Mr. Griffiths noted that the forecasted capacity and expansion for 2026, will include several regular, direct flight paths between Dubai International Airport and Riyadh. During the interview, he specifically confirmed that Saudi Arabia's soon-to-launch national carrier, Riyadh Air, would be a key part of this growth, stating, “We’re adding more routes to Saudi Arabia.” He further noted that the highly anticipated Riyadh-to-Dubai route is expected to begin “over the next few months.”
When will Riyadh Air officially launch?
Established in early 2023, Riyadh Air was initially expected to launch regular flights in the first half of 2025; this timeframe was adjusted to Q3 2025 due to global Boeing production issues. The delayed launches were due to Boeing production issues, felt by the entire aviation industry worldwide. The new national carrier marked its inaugural flight from Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport on October 26, 2025, to London's Heathrow Airport.
Although the airline's maiden flight to London Heathrow took place over three months ago. this flight launched a foundational phase of "soft operations." This test flight was limited to Riyadh Air staff, and members of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), and various PIF subsidiaries.
In an interview at the Dubai Airshow with The National in November 2025, Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas emphasised that the transition to public operation requires a minimum fleet size, stating, “We need a minimum of three aircraft before you can operate general public sales to a level that I'd be happy with.” However, Mr. Douglas confirmed, at the time, that his expectations would be that the airline would begin selling tickets and operating flights for the general public in the first quarter of 2026.
As of the time of writing, regular and publicly available operations have not yet begun, and tickets are not yet available.
Riyadh Air is now slated to commence publicly available flight operations from the first quarter of 2026, according to recent updates
@riyadhair
