> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.thecontrail.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Saudi Arabia's Newest Airline Is Now Busing Passengers Through the Desert - URL: https://www.thecontrail.org/riyadh-air-al-qassim-flights/ - Published: 2026-10-24T17:08:25.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T17:08:25.000Z - Description: Riyadh Air launched with brand-new Dreamliners and big ambitions. I was on its first public flight in June. Now, with its home airport crippled by missile strikes, it's driving passengers four hours to fly from somewhere else. - Author: Zach Benitez - Tags: News, Saudi Crisis, Riyadh Air In June, I was on board Riyadh Air's first public flight, from Riyadh to London. It was supposed to be the start of Saudi Arabia's boldest aviation project: a brand-new national airline, backed by the country's sovereign wealth fund, with well over 100 planes on order and a plan to fly to 100 destinations by 2030\. This weekend, Riyadh Air is moving its flights out of Riyadh altogether. Starting October 25, the airline will fly from Al Qassim, a regional airport about 250 miles north of the capital, and it's putting passengers on a free bus through the desert to get there. --- ## The First Flight Spirits were high on that first flight. Crew, staff and passengers all seemed to know they were part of something new, and it showed. When I spoke with Tony Douglas, the airline’s CEO, on board, he told me people were flocking to work for Riyadh Air because it was “new and exciting.” On that flight, it was easy to see why. It was hard not to be impressed. Riyadh Air was announced by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2023, owned by the Public Investment Fund and run by Tony Douglas, who previously led Etihad. It has dozens of Boeing 787s and Airbus jets on order, and by this fall it was flying brand-new 787s from Riyadh to cities including London, Manchester, Madrid, Cairo, Mumbai, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. ![Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas in a blue suit, being filmed on a phone, framed by red-and-white headscarves in the foreground](https://storage.ghost.io/c/ac/ed/acedfbb2-ff9c-499b-b431-eb36d7539be1/content/images/2026/10/IMG_5460.jpg) Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas in the airline’s Hafawa Lounge on its inaugural day in June. Credit: Zach Benitez / Contrail --- ## What Happened to Riyadh Then the attacks came. Yemen's Houthi movement struck [Riyadh's main airport](https://www.thecontrail.org/riyadh-airport-reopening-flights-permission/) four times between October 7 and October 11, killing at least 20 people. A missile that hit the terminals on October 10 shut the airport down. Since then, it has only allowed flights with special permission from Saudi authorities, and only a trickle of flights has returned. ![Large, brightly lit baggage claim hall at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport with white columns and carousels](https://storage.ghost.io/c/ac/ed/acedfbb2-ff9c-499b-b431-eb36d7539be1/content/images/2026/10/IMG_5341-2.jpg) The arrivals hall at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, before the attacks. File photo. Credit: Zach Benitez / Contrail For an airline whose entire network was built around Riyadh, that meant stopping completely. Riyadh Air suspended its flights and moved its planes to safety. On October 13, flight-tracking data showed its 787s leaving Riyadh for AlUla and Medina, while others stayed parked in Jeddah. Riyadh Air · Al Qassim ### Riyadh Air's Detour Through the Desert New base Al Qassim, about 250 miles from Riyadh Restarts October 25 Routes Cairo, Dhaka, Islamabad, Jeddah, London, Lahore Getting there Free bus from a Riyadh hotel, about 4 hours June 2026 Riyadh Air's first public flight, Riyadh to London. Oct 10, 2026 A missile strike shuts Riyadh's airport. Oct 13 Its new 787s leave Riyadh for AlUla and Medina. Oct 25 Flights restart from Al Qassim. Check your booking. Contrail --- ## The Qassim Workaround Riyadh Air's answer is to fly from somewhere else. From October 25, it's restarting six routes from Al Qassim airport: Cairo, Dhaka, Islamabad, Jeddah, London Heathrow and Lahore. Passengers in the capital can take a free coach from the InterContinental Durrat Al Riyadh hotel, a drive of roughly four hours, timed to arrive before bag drop closes. It's an unusual move. Airlines sometimes shift flights to another airport during a crisis, but it's rare for a national airline to effectively relocate away from the city it's named after. It also keeps planes flying, crews working and the brand alive while Riyadh remains off-limits, which for a startup airline matters a lot. A grounded airline still has to pay for its planes. It’s a long way from that first flight to London. In June, the mood on board was all about where Riyadh Air was going next. Now the question is simply how it gets its passengers to a plane. --- ## What's at Stake Riyadh Air was meant to be the face of Saudi Arabia's travel ambitions, a country aiming for 150 million tourist visits a year by 2030\. Right now, its home airport is crippled, foreign airlines are staying away, and the US has [ordered non-emergency embassy staff](https://www.thecontrail.org/is-it-safe-to-travel-to-saudi-arabia/) and their families to leave the country. None of that is Riyadh Air's doing, and the airline still has the money and the planes to bounce back once Riyadh is safe. But four months after its big public debut, it's flying from a place it never planned to be. --- ## If You're Booked on Riyadh Air If you have a Riyadh Air booking, check it in the airline's app or on its website, since flights from Riyadh are still suspended and only the six Qassim routes are restarting for now. If you're in Riyadh and flying from Al Qassim, plan for the bus ride and get to the hotel early. If your route isn't on the list, contact the airline about a refund or rebooking.