Capital cities Rome and Riyadh will be connected with two weekly flights.
Barely two months after opening services in Saudi Arabia, Wizz Air has officially launched two routes between the Arabian Peninsula and Italy.
The low-cost carrier has been noticeably scaling up its operations in the Kingdom through the latter half of the year following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the country’s Ministry of Investment in May. Twenty-three routes have been announced so far, including the freshly launched Rome Fiumicino (FCO) to Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport (RUH) and Milan Malpensa (MXP) to King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) in Jeddah.
Through winter, Wizz Air will offer two weekly frequencies for both destinations before scaling up to three times a week from April onwards.
Route
Frequency
Departure
Arrival
Milan (MXP) – Jeddah (JED)
Tuesday and Saturday
12:30 CET
19:55 AST
Jeddah (JED) – Milan (MXP)
Tuesday and Saturday
20:35 AST
00:50 CET (+1)
Route
Frequency
Departure
Arrival
Rome (FCO) – Riyadh (RUH)
Tuesday
11:35 CET
19:00 AST
Rome (FCO) – Riyadh (RUH)
Sunday
11:55 CET
19:20 CET
Riyadh (RUH) – Rome (FCO)
Tuesday
19:35 AST
23:45 CET
Riyadh (RUH) – Rome (FCO)
Sunday
19:55 AST
23:40 CET
An additional three Italy – Saudi services are set to begin in 2023. Milan, Naples (NAP), and Venice Marco Polo (VCE) will connect to Riyadh in April.
Wizz Air and Saudi Arabia’s newfound partnership comes as part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 program to develop its tourism sector and welcome a further 100 million yearly visitors. Wizz Air and Saudi officials have celebrated the freshly inaugurated routes, citing the benefits of increased connectivity between the Middle East and Europe for holidaymakers on both sides of the agreement.
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Fahd Hamidaddin, Chief Executive Officer of the Saudi Tourism Authority, explained;
“Saudi is the world's biggest new destination, undiscovered, unique and unexpected, The Saudi tourism offer is incomparable, one of breadth and diversity, from pristine nature, diverse landscapes, rich culture, a rapidly expanding entertainment scene and authentic Arabian hospitality.”
“We are very excited to witness the expansion of the flights between Saudi and Italy, as it’s helping us create an exciting new destination for the Italian traveller, to explore and experience the authentic home of Arabia.”
Saudi Arabia has been moving to introduce a wide range of new connections into the country, targeting at least 250 destinations by 2030. Despite the pandemic-induced downturn in international travel, Saudi Arabia has already seen a significant rebound in tourists, recording 18 million arrivals between January and October, almost on par with its entire tourism levels in 2019.
Planning ahead, the country recently unveiled plans to develop a six-runway “mega airport” in the capital city of Riyadh, set to be named after the current King, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Salman International Airport will absorb the existing Riyadh airport, expanding across 12 square kilometers and adding four new parallel runways. Although still in its planning phase, the airport is expected to provide a capacity for 120 million passengers by 2030, potentially becoming one of the largest in the world.
Have you flown on Wizz Air’s Saudi Arabian routes yet? What other destinations would you like to see the carrier add? Let us know in the comments.
Journalist – With a degree in journalism, Molly joins the team with an interest in aviation’s history, and its impact on politics, society, and culture. Molly has experience as a digital correspondent with Sky News. Based in Surrey, United Kingdom