Riyadh Air launches Mumbai route as Saudi carrier’s network hits nine destinations

Riyadh Air began daily flights between Riyadh and Mumbai on 4 August, marking the Saudi carrier’s first route into India and its latest step in a rapid network expansion across South Asia.

The daily Boeing 787-9 service is the first of four new South Asian destinations the carrier is adding this month. Daily flights to Dhaka, Bangladesh — Riyadh Air’s first connection to Bangladesh — begin 7 August. A daily service to Islamabad follows on 14 August, operating on flight RX0659 departing Riyadh at 13:45 four times a week and flight RX0661 departing at 20:10 three times a week. A service to Lahore is also planned for later in August, with reports varying on the exact start date; a daily service to Manila, the Philippines, is scheduled to begin 9 September.

The additions bring Riyadh Air’s network to nine destinations, up from six at its commercial launch in October 2025. The carrier has said it intends to reach 22 destinations by March 2027, en route to a stated ambition of serving more than 100 international cities by the end of the decade.

Riyadh Air said the new South Asian routes target some of the largest expatriate and labour markets in Saudi Arabia, alongside business, leisure and visiting-friends-and-relatives traffic, while reinforcing Riyadh’s position as a connecting hub between Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

The expansion follows Riyadh Air’s order, firmed at last month’s Farnborough Airshow, for six additional Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, along with exercised options for 28 more Boeing 787s. The carrier has also recently secured regulatory approval for services to Beijing and Shanghai, and authority to begin operations to the United States.

Riyadh Air is Saudi Arabia’s second national carrier alongside Saudia, positioned by the government as a flagship of the country’s tourism and economic diversification push under Vision 2030.