Saudi Arabian Low cost carrier Flyadeal will start flights between Riyadh and Hyderabad starting July 01, 2026. The airline is an all Airbus narrowbody operator and a subsidiary of Saudia. Flyadeal launched flights in 2017, but had not looked at India as a scheduled destination for long. With the launch of flights to Hyderabad, Flyadeal will complement parent Saudia on India flights.
The airline will operate daily flights at below timings, deploying the A320neo on the route. Though a low cost carrier, Flyadeal seats feature USB charging.
F3-665 RUH2320 – 0650(+1)HYD
F3-666 HYD0755 – 1105RUH
Saudi Arabia is one of the few markets where Indian carriers have an upper hand right now. Saudia, the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, adjusts its India network based on seasonalitiy and the data for July, obtained exlcusively for this article from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, does not reflect the year round operations of the airline to India.
Flyadeal will be the third carrier between Hyderabad and Riyadh, with the other two being IndiGo and Flynas. Parent Saudia connects Hyderabad with Jeddah. Data shared by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, shows that IndiGo leads the seats and frequency share between India and Saudi Arabia. This data is for July.
Snapshot of India – Saudi Arabia market
IndiGo leads the frequency and seats between India and Saudi Arabia followed by Saudia. Four points in Saudi Arabia are connected to various points in India, while India has 11 points connected to Saudi Arabia with the largest being Mumbai.
Why Hyderabad?
Hyderabad has emerged as one of India’s strongest gateways to the Gulf region, with West Asia accounting for the majority of the city’s international air traffic. The large Telugu-speaking expatriate population in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain, combined with strong business ties and labour migration from Telangana and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, has created sustained demand for flights to the region. Destinations such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Sharjah, Jeddah, Riyadh and Muscat rank among the busiest international routes from Hyderabad, served by airlines including Emirates, flydubai, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, Air India Express, IndiGo, Air Arabia, Oman Air and Saudia. Thousands of passengers travel between Hyderabad and Gulf cities for employment, family visits, religious travel and onward connections to Europe, North America and Africa. The Gulf market also provides significant cargo opportunities, supporting exports of pharmaceuticals, perishables and high-value goods from Telangana. Despite the growth of long-haul traffic to Europe and North America, the Gulf remains the backbone of Hyderabad’s international aviation network and is likely to continue driving much of the airport’s future international growth.
Amidst the drop in international traffic at Hyderabad due to ongoing tensions in West Asia and an uneasy ceasefire, the Flyadeal start will be a refreshing change.
Network Thoughts
Flyadeal could add more flights to India. The Bilateral Air Services Agreement definitely allows more seats for Saudi Arabia based carriers and for routes where there is point to point traffic, Flyadeal could be the airline of choice for the group to maintain year round presence and look for more frequencies over capacity. Saudi would thus get the ability to focus on the metro routes with a larger focus on the transfer market, with Riyadh Air also coming in to the equation soon.
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