Information has been circulating that Riyadh Air look set to be operating flights to Manchester Airport on May 2, 2026.
This is promising news for the airport, as they continue their route development eastbound, and would be a welcome addition as well.
Furthermore, it will also be another great link to the Middle East, given the plethora of airlines from that region that already operate out of the UK airport.
Current Plan for Manchester Flights with Riyadh Air…
As per @SPD_travels on X, it is understood that Riyadh Air will launch flights to Manchester Airport from May 2, 2026.
Furthermore, it is understood that the flights will operate on a thrice-weekly basis, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Scheduling is as follows for this:
- RX417 RUH 0220 MAN 0710
- RX418 MAN 0840 RUH 1735
As the X handle notes, this is subject to any delays that could take place as Riyadh Air is still being properly set-up, with it being unclear at the moment if the launch date for the airline will be moved or not, which could have a bearing on the Manchester flights.
Riyadh Air’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners that could be operating to Manchester can seat 290 passengers in a four-class set-up broken up into the following tiers:
| Cabin Class | Seats | Layout | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Elite | 4 | 1-2-1 | Fully flat-bed; sliding privacy doors; 78-inch long × 22.5-inch wide Safran Unity seats; 52-inch high walls; A/C power; USB ports; 32-inch 4K OLED screens; double bed in first-row center seats |
| Business Class | 24 | 1-2-1 | Fully flat-bed; sliding privacy doors; A/C power; USB ports; 22-inch 4K OLED screens |
| Premium Economy | 39 | 2-3-2 | 38-inch seat pitch; 19.2-inch seat width; 15.6-inch 4K OLED screens |
| Economy | 223 | 3-3-3 | 31-inch seat pitch; 17.2-inch seat width; 13.3-inch 4K OLED screens; two USB-C ports (no A/C power) |
Even despite the significant Economy offering, Riyadh Air would be offering a variety of premium capacity options, which would look to boost revenues where appropriate.
Clearly, however, Riyadh Air definitely sees Manchester Airport as a market to be doing business in, and that is probably down to the next point that is to be discussed: Relationships.
The UK Airport’s Relationship with the Middle East…
It makes a lot of sense why Riyadh Air is looking to operate flights to Manchester Airport: The existing base of Middle Eastern carriers already there.
The UK airport has the following portfolio of Middle Eastern carriers operating services already:
- Emirates to Dubai.
- Qatar Airways to Doha.
- Etihad Airways to Abu Dhabi.
- SAUDIA to Jeddah.
- Gulf Air to Bahrain.
- Kuwait Airways to Kuwait City.
- Egyptair to Cairo.
- Royal Jordanian to Amman.
Every single one of these airlines offers onward connections from their respective hubs, which is something that Riyadh Air wants to do, particularly seeing as there is already an established base through the SAUDIA flights into Jeddah.
If the new Saudi carrier can get their pricing right and competitive against the other airlines who connect their passengers onward, then they could start to steal significant market share out of the Middle Eastern market at Manchester Airport.
Enhanced Connectivity into Saudi Arabia…
Through SAUDIA & Riyadh Air, Manchester Airport would have a pretty significant connection coverage into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Even if you look at Riyadh Air for example.
With them being backed by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the plan is to get the airline to 100 destinations by 2030, which is only a little over four years away.
This is also being done in conjunction with the King Salman International Airport, a massive project in Riyadh which is designed to handle up to 120 million passengers annually by 2030, and 185 million by 2050.
Riyadh Air and SAUDIA will be proactively supporting the PIF’s target of hitting 150 million tourists by 2030, and you need a significant aviation infrastructure backbone to achieve that.
For Manchester Airport, this is why it is so significant for them to have even further coverage into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: It’s going to be lucrative.
With Riyadh Air in particular, all eyes will be on how the full public rollout for general bookings looks for their proposed initial network worldwide, as well as how well Manchester Airport will fare in that.
If the carrier can get it right, there could be scope to add more flights per week into the UK airport, which is something SAUDIA has done already.
They now operate daily flights, with demand booming and soaring at present.
So, it is most definitely an exciting premise for the UK airport, but also for aviation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia too. Big things are coming, and Manchester Airport want to get ahead of that curve before anyone else does.
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