Riyadh Air has unveiled three more routes as it continues to flesh out its long-awaited full network launch, with Jeddah, Madrid, and Manchester now joining the airline’s growing list of named destinations. That takes the startup carrier to six officially announced routes in total, following earlier disclosures for London, Dubai, and Cairo.

It is another clear sign that Riyadh Air is moving from a branding exercise to an actual network build-out. But the catch remains the same: only London Heathrow Airport (LHR) is currently operating, and even that is in a very limited capacity, while the rest remain part of the airline’s still-forming launch plan. The route map is growing faster than the fleet, and that tension is now central to the story.

The Officially Disclosed Routes Double To Six

Credit: Riyadh Air

Riyadh Air’s latest announcement adds a domestic trunk route and two European links in one move. Jeddah Airport (JED) gives the airline a vital Saudi domestic sector, while Madrid Barajas Airport (MAD) and Manchester Airport (MAN) add more breadth to its upcoming Europe network. That trio now joins London, Dubai International Airport (DXB), and Cairo International Airport (CAI) on Riyadh Air’s official public route list.

Here is how Riyadh Air’s six announced routes now stack up:

The big outstanding issue is still the aircraft. Riyadh Air has ordered 39 Boeing 787-9s (with 33 options), and said in February when announcing the new route to Cairo that it was set to accept delivery of its first aircraft “in the coming weeks.” Reuters earlier reported that its ordered Boeing 787-9s were expected “within months”.

Until those arrive, the airline is restricted to operating its LHR route with its sole 787-9, a leased technical spare from Oman Air. Even this route, which began operations in October last year, is restricted to employees and their families, and tickets are not yet available to the general public.

The good news is that the new Dreamliners don’t seem to be far from delivery now. The current status of the initial four is as follows:

• HZ-RXAA: The first of Riyadh Air’s factory-fresh Dreamliners to fly in January, this is undergoing final fittings at the Boeing facility in Charleston.
• HZ-RXAB: Undergoing test flights at Everett as recently as last week.
• HZ-RXAC: Also in Everett after a stint in San Antonio in March for interior fittings.
• HZ-RXAD: The most recently produced Dreamliner, this took its maiden flight last week.

Madrid & Manchester Break New Ground

Credit: Riyadh Air

The most interesting part of this latest batch may be Madrid and Manchester. These are not just new routes for Riyadh Air. They are all-new links to Riyadh Airport (RUH), giving the startup something much rarer than another “me-too” market entry. According to the previously disclosed 15-route launch plan, only three of those intended routes had no existing competition from Riyadh. Madrid and Manchester were two of them.

That gives both routes added strategic value. Riyadh Air is not simply piling into an already served Riyadh market here. It is opening nonstop service from the Saudi capital to two major European cities that currently lack it. For an airline built around the idea of making Riyadh a global hub, that is exactly the sort of route that can help define its role rather than just imitate incumbents.

However, these won’t be the sole routes to Saudi Arabia for the two European cities, as Saudia already serves both from Jeddah. The Kingdom’s flag carrier operates daily to Manchester and four-times weekly to the Spanish capital, but with a 787-9. But Riyadh Air is now officially including both cities as part of its capital-focused hub strategy.

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Jeddah Is A Different Beast

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

If Madrid and Manchester are smart white-space plays, Jeddah is sheer scale. OAG ranked Riyadh–Jeddah as the world’s fifth-busiest domestic route in 2025, with 9.8 million seats, up 13% year over year and 22% above 2019 levels. It also called it out for being the fastest-growing route in the global top ten, despite only three Saudi airlines operating the sector — Saudia, Flynas, and Flyadeal.

Based on Cirium Diio schedule data, the market currently looks like this:

That shows just how different this route is from the two new European additions. Jeddah is already brutally competitive, with enormous frequency at an average of 142 daily flights in both directions. What’s more, at least half of Saudia’s flights are with its widebody fleet. But it is also a route Riyadh Air almost has to serve. Any airline trying to funnel inbound travelers through Riyadh needs a strong link to Jeddah, one of the kingdom’s biggest air markets and a major destination in its own right.

So when will these routes actually launch? Riyadh Air has not yet put specific start dates on the new trio, or indeed its previously disclosed routes. What we can reasonably expect is that as the initial 787s arrive, they will be used to open regular passenger service to London, with the lower-risk regional routes likely to follow next. Either way, Riyadh Air’s route map is no longer hypothetical. The destinations are coming into focus. Now the airline just needs the airplanes to catch up.