Saudi low-fare carrier flyadeal has started the year by naming Madinah (MED) as its fourth operational base, launching five new routes and boosting its local footprint by 40%.
The expansion takes its routes from the second Holy City from three to eight destinations and positions aircraft where the religious and VFR (visiting friends and relatives) traffic is most consistent.
The airline has permanently stationed two Airbus A320s at Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport, joining its existing hubs in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam.
The network additions include a new route to Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen (SAW), a stronghold for low-cost regional connectivity and four internal routes to Abha (AHB), Al Hofuf (HOF), Jazan (GIZ), and Tabuk (TUU).
flyadeal’s weekly departures from Madinah now climb to 88. The carrier is also growing existing services: Cairo moves to 11 weekly flights, while the Dammam shuttle jumps from 19 to 26 weekly departures.
While Jeddah remains the traditional primary gateway for the Hajj and Umrah markets, Madinah is increasingly being used as a relief valve and a standalone destination for pilgrims.
By basing aircraft in MED, flyadeal gains the operational flexibility to bypass the congestion of Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International and capture “direct-to-shrine” traffic.
It also caters to the outbound demand from the city’s growing resident population—a key pillar of the Saudi Vision 2030 mandate to diversify the Kingdom’s aviation economy.
Pictured celebrating flyadeal’s Madinah route expansion are. Left to right: Captain Abdulaziz Bahri, flyadeal Chief Operating Officer; Rogier van Enk, flyadeal Chief Commercial and Customer Officer; Eng. Abdullah Alraimi, Chief Operations Officer of Tibah Airports which runs Madinah Airport; and Eng. Alaa Mohammed, Airport Operations Director.
