• Year-Round Umrah Service Being Scaled Up To Include UK & Thailand

Jeddah, Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia – flyadeal, the youngest and fastest growing low-cost airline in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Middle East, expects to carry over 75,000 pilgrims on dedicated international charters during this year’s Hajj season.

The figure represents yet another significant milestone for flyadeal which has been scaling up the number of overseas Hajj flights since 2023.

From 35,000 pilgrims flown by flyadeal into the Kingdom last year – up 35 per cent on 2023 – the number is expected to more than double to 75,000 in 2025, with the airline operating additional widebody charters into Jeddah and Madinah, gateway to the Holy City of Makkah.

flyadeal is also stepping up its year-round Umrah services, which will continue to operate from Turkey, Iraq and Uzbekistan, with the UK, Thailand, India and countries in Africa and Central Asia set to be included for 2025.

The growth plans were announced during the 4th edition of the annual Hajj Conference and Exhibition that took place at the Superdome in Jeddah last week under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and organised by the Kingdom’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.

flyadeal joined sister companies Saudia and SGS (Saudi Ground Services) under the umbrella of parent Saudi Group – this year’s strategic sponsor – with a joint exhibition stand promoting products and services to visiting Hajj committees, ministries and tour operators from around the world.

His Excellency Dr.Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah, Minister of Hajj and Umrah in the Kingdom, together with HE Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Duailej, President of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) in Saudi Arabia, and HE Engr. Ibrahim bin Abdulrahaman Al-Omar, Director General of Saudia Group, were among the many visiting dignitaries.

Steven Greenway, flyadeal Chief Executive Officer, said: “This year’s Hajj forum was a perfect opportunity to give visiting delegations and travel companies an insight into flyadeal’s Hajj preparations for 2025, our year-round Umrah plans, and exciting growth of our scheduled operations in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and South Asia over the next 12 months and beyond.

“Having operated two successful seasons of Hajj charters with 120 flights from 15 destinations across seven countries last year, we now turn to 2025 during which we expect to carry around 75,000 pilgrims as we bring in more widebody aircraft dedicated to our biggest ever international Hajj uplift. In addition, we are conducting more year-round Umrah flights as widebody aircraft enable us to operate from further afield including the UK, Thailand and India.

“Running a Hajj operation during an intense one month period every year is effectively like running a separate business from our day-to-day scheduled services. Our dedicated teams work tirelessly in coordination with our travel partners in the Kingdom and overseas to provide a unique end-to-end experience.”

Rakan Alotaibi, flyadeal Director of Hajj & Umrah and Commercial Regulatory Affairs, added: “We signed a number of Hajj agreements with delegations last week followed by their visits to our Jeddah headquarters to learn more about flyadeal and our operations first hand as we gear up with national pride for what promises to be an extremely busy and gratifying summer season carrying so many pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.

“flyadeal remains committed to the very important, yet complex, annual Hajj movements for which we put in tremendous effort beyond expectations ensuring they run as smoothly as possible to support the dreams and aspirations of first-time Hajj pilgrims, many of whom are are also first-time fliers.”

flyadeal was among a host of travel companies, including airlines, hotels, ground transport operators, agents and tour firms to showcase their products to delegates during the Jeddah event.

-Ends-

About flyadeal

On 23 September 2017, National Day of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, flyadeal began operations with its historic maiden flight from Jeddah to Riyadh. A pioneer and innovator, flyadeal was the first regional low-cost airline to be launched only across digital distribution channels. Being the sister airline of full-service national carrier Saudia — both under the umbrella ownership of Saudi Arabian Airlines Corporation (Saudia Group) — flyadeal was created for the price-conscious and tech-savvy consumer in mind in a market where 80 per cent of the Saudi population is aged less than 40 years and has at least two mobile phones.

flyadeal aims to stimulate travel, tourism and trade with its affordable, value for money everyday fares catering to leisure, religious, family and business travellers. Simplicity is key with an all-Economy Class cabin across flyadeal’s narrowbody fleet. With the Kingdom undergoing dramatic transformation through its Vision 2030 economic diversification drive, aviation and tourism are among the many sectors earmarked for dynamic growth. Today, flyadeal is one of the youngest and fastest growing low-cost airlines in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Middle East, recognised for excellence in on-time performance that is consistently above the global industry average.

flyadeal operates a young fleet of Airbus A320 narrowbody aircraft flying from bases in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam to destinations across Saudi Arabia with a growing international footprint in Europe, Middle East and North Africa. The airline has flown over 30 million passengers since its inaugural flight. In May 2024, flyadeal placed its biggest ever order for 51 aircraft – 12 A320neos and 39 larger A321neos – with a delivery schedule beginning in 2026. By 2030, flyadeal plans to operate hundreds of routes that will see its fleet and network triple in number to over 100 aircraft and destinations, respectively. flyadeal’s aggressive expansion drive makes the rapidly growing airline one of the country’s most desirable companies to work for.

For more information, please contact:
Updesh Kapur
Corporate Communications Department
Email: updesh.kapur@flyadeal.com
www.flyadeal.com