Singapore Airlines to resume regular services to Riyadh in June after 12-year hiatus

Dhaka: Singapore Airlines announced it will operate four weekly nonstop flights to Riyadh from Singapore starting June 2, marking its return to the Saudi Arabian capital after 12 years. The announcement, along with other details regarding the service, came through an official statement on Monday, February 2.

According to the statement, initially, from June 2 to October 24, Flight SQ498 will depart Singapore for Riyadh on every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday at 18:20 local time (LT). The return flight, SQ499, will depart Riyadh for Singapore on the same days at 23:00 LT.

Later, from October 25 onwards, the Riyadh-bound flight SQ498 will depart from Singapore at 17:40 LT on the same days, and the return flight, SQ499, will depart from Riyadh at 22:50 LT.

Singapore Airlines will deploy the medium-haul variants of its Airbus A350-900 fleet on this route. These A350-900s can accommodate a total of 303 passengers in a two-class seating configuration, comprising 40 business and 263 economy class seats.

The airline's Chief Commercial Officer Lee Lik Hsin said, “Our return to Riyadh comes amid its thriving business environment and ambitious development, which make it one of the Middle East’s most dynamic cities. Beyond a new destination, this service will potentially allow us to work with our partners to offer our customers additional travel options across the region.”

Previously, Singapore Airlines operated scheduled direct flights between Singapore and Riyadh, from 2008 to 2014. The service was discontinued due to poor commercial performance and low demand at the time.

The airline highlighted Riyadh's historic sites, such as Diriyah and the Masmak Fortress, world-class museums, luxury hotels, and a wide range of shopping and dining options, in addition to the capital city's administrative and financial significance, for increasing passenger demands and motivating the airline to resume operations after 12 years.

Riyadh will be SIA Group’s second destination in Saudi Arabia, complementing its low-cost subsidiary Scoot's four weekly flights to Jeddah. The new Riyadh service, however, is still subject to regulatory approvals.

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