Air France is expanding its presence in the Middle East with the addition of a new route to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Air France is expanding its presence in the Middle East with the addition of a new route to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Announced during the Saudi-French Investment Forum in Riyadh, the Air France-KLM Group announced the new service – between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Riyadh – will be launched during the summer 2025.
The route is in support of the Saudi government's Saudi Air Connectivity Program, and follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Saudi Arabia's national flag carrier Saudia for strengthened cooperation and expanded codeshare and interline agreements between the two SkyTeam alliance member airlines.
Speaking on the route announcement, Benjamin Smith, CEO, Air France-KLM said: “Saudi Arabia is rapidly emerging as a world-class destination and a key gateway. We are delighted to support the Kingdom in this new chapter by expanding our connections and strengthening our existing ones, and thank the Saudi Air Connectivity Program for its valuable support.”
“We are delighted to welcome Air France to the Kingdom, as part of our wider efforts to increase air connectivity to key destinations and ensure travel to the Kingdom is a seamless experience,” added Majid Khan, CEO, Saudi Air Connectivity Program. “Air connectivity holds immense potential to boost tourism development. The commencement of direct flights from Air France-KLM between King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh and Charles de Gaulle, Paris from Summer 2025, will enable the two-way flow of thousands more tourists between our two great countries.”
With the new route, the Air France-KLM Group will operate flights to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with its three group airlines. KLM currently operates flights to Riyadh and Dammam from Amsterdam, while budget arm Transavia will launch flights to Jeddah from Paris-Orly and Lyon starting December 12.
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