Saudia is resuming flights between Dammam and London Heathrow after a 15-year hiatus, a move that reflects growing demand and intensifying competition in the UK–Saudi Arabia market.
The SkyTeam carrier will operate the route three times per week starting Nov. 5 using Boeing 787-9 aircraft. The service was last operated in October 2010. The resumption will see Saudia close reservations on three of its existing 14X-weekly Jeddah–London Heathrow frequencies, suggesting a redistribution of capacity rather than an outright expansion.
However, the broader market between the two countries continues to see significant growth despite ongoing geopolitical instability in the Middle East. According to OAG Schedules Analyser data, the total number of two-way weekly seats between Saudi Arabia and the UK has surged from about 18,900 in July 2019 to 47,200 in July 2025—a 150% increase. Saudia alone offers 53 roundtrip weekly flights, providing 32,200 two-way seats and holding a dominant 68% market share.
The resumption of London-Dammam—Saudi Arabia’s eastern commercial hub—comes as new players enter the market. Saudia’s SkyTeam partner Virgin Atlantic made its debut in Saudi Arabia on March 30 with daily London Heathrow–Riyadh flights. ULCC Wizz Air followed suit a day later, launching daily London Gatwick–Jeddah flights and announcing daily London Gatwick–Medina service from Aug. 1 using Airbus A321XLR aircraft.
Wizz Air’s new route to Medina will be the UK’s only nonstop connection to the Islamic holy city, linking the largest unserved UK–Saudi Arabia city pair in 2024, according to Sabre Market Intelligence data. London–Medina saw 166,300 two-way O&D passengers last year, ranking behind only London–Jeddah (452,300) and London–Riyadh (422,300) in total traffic. Manchester–Jeddah ranked fourth with 129,300 passengers, followed by London–Dammam with 62,000.
In total, UK–Saudi Arabia traffic reached 1.5 million passengers in 2024, up 26% from the previous year and 76% higher than pre-pandemic 2019 levels. About 41% of passengers traveled nonstop, with Doha and Istanbul the top connecting hubs.
This surge in air travel also mirrors deepening economic ties between the two nations. UK trade with Saudi Arabia totaled £16.1 billion ($21.9 billion) in the year to the 2024 fourth quarter, making the Gulf country the UK’s 24th-largest trading partner. While total trade declined 6.4% year-on-year, UK exports rose 1.7%, buoyed in part by increased demand for travel, tourism and related services.
Saudia’s latest network adjustment also supports Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 strategy, which aims to diversify the economy by boosting tourism, trade and connectivity. The national aviation plan calls for the country to serve 250 destinations and triple passenger traffic by the end of the decade.
As reported by Aviation Week on July 10, Saudia is maintaining its traffic growth forecast at 7%-8% in 2025 after reviewing the impact on travel demand following the Iran-Israel missile attacks in mid-June.
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