China’s Hainan Airlines is poised to enter the Saudi Arabian market after securing support from the Saudi Air Connectivity Program (ACP) to launch two new routes.

The connectivity scheme was launched two years ago as part of efforts to drastically scale up air service to the kingdom by 2030, aiming to increase the number of destinations served to more than 250 and grow the number of annual passengers traveling to and from the country to 330 million.

Hainan is yet to confirm the destinations it plans to serve, but the routes will represent the third and fourth new nonstop connections between China and Saudi Arabia that have been supported by the ACP. In August, Saudia commenced two routes to Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX) from both Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) and Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport (RUH), each flying twice a week.

“Our strategic decision to expand in the Saudi market comes at a time of positive global momentum for both our nations,” says Jason Liu, commercial vice president of Hainan Airlines. “We believe this is the beginning of a long and fruitful partnership, and we are looking forward to further fostering cultural exchanges, enhancing connectivity and contributing to the economic growth and friendship between the two countries.”

According to data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser, Saudia is the sole airline flying nonstop between Saudi Arabia and China at present, offering four routes. The carrier has long-standing flights to Guangzhou from JED and RUH, currently operating 2X-weekly and 3X-weekly, respectively, alongside the two new services to PKX.

Prior to the pandemic, O&D traffic between Saudi Arabia and China totalled some 300,000 two-way passengers in 2019, representing an increase of 19% on the previous 12 months. Guangzhou-Jeddah and Guangzhou-Riyadh were the biggest city pairs during the year, followed by Beijing-Dammam.

In addition to supporting Hainan’s planned entry to the Saudi market, the ACP has collaborated with Saudia to bring back flights between JED and Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ). Service will resume after a five-year hiatus on Dec. 2, operating six times per week.

The SkyTeam alliance member last served Canada in September 2018, flying to YYZ from both JED and RUH, but the routes were cut from the carrier’s network in the wake of a diplomatic feud between Canada and Saudi Arabia, sparked by human rights concerns.

However, the two nations agreed to resume diplomatic ties in May 2023, saying the move reflected a “desire for both sides to restore diplomatic relations between the countries on the basis of mutual respect.” Once Saudia reinstates service, the JED-YYZ route will become the only nonstop flight between the countries.

Operations to Toronto will use Boeing 787-9 aircraft in a two-class configuration, with 24 business-class seats and 274 economy-class seats. The city becomes Saudia’s ninth destination in collaboration with the ACP.