The first flight has landed at Red Sea International Airport (RSI) in Saudi Arabia.
Departing from King Khalid International Airport (RUH) in Riyadh each Thursday and Saturday, The Saudia flight, which takes under two hours, is a new twice-weekly service, with the flights returning to Riyadh later the same day. The flights depart RUH each Thursday at 10.50am, before returning to the Kingdom’s capital from RSI at 13:35pm. A second service departs RUH every Saturday at 12.50pm, with the return flight departing at 15:35pm.
Positioned within an eight-hour flight from 85% of the world’s population, RSI is expected to grow to welcome international flights from next year as further phase one tourist resorts at new destinations The Red Sea and Amaala open their doors.
Red Sea International Airport is operated by daa International, which has supported Red Sea Global (RSG) – the multiproject developer behind The Red Sea and Amaala destinations – with design validation and commissioning of RSI since 2020. With the arrival of RSI’s first commercial flight, daa International’s operational responsibility commences.
On the same day as it welcomes its first flight, RSG also revealed the new brand for RSI. Visitors can expect to see the brand expressed across multiple touchpoints, from the airport terminal and staff uniforms to the electric mobility vehicles that will transport passengers from air to land side. The brand icon is a representation of the Red Sea International Airport’s architecture, with the shape inspired by the bird’s eye view of the airport’s exterior.
As well as its airport, Red Sea Global has constructed the five solar farms needed to enable the first phase of The Red Sea to be off-grid and powered solely by sunlight, with more than 760,000 solar panels installed. Its Landscape Nursery has already grown more than four million trees, plants and shrubs. In July 2023, RSG also opened a Mangrove Nursery, with the aim of planting 50 million mangroves by 2030.
Upon completion in 2030, the destination will comprise 50 resorts, offering up to 8,000 hotel rooms and more than 1,000 residential properties across 22 islands and six inland sites. The destination will also include luxury marinas, golf courses, entertainment, F&B and leisure facilities.
John Pagano, group CEO of Red Sea Global, said, “We promised to make The Red Sea a place where people from all around the world would come to experience the best of Saudi culture, hospitality and nature. Now, with the first flight touching down at Red Sea International Airport, and our first resorts receiving bookings, Saudi Arabia’s position on the global tourism map is all but secured. RSI is the gateway to The Red Sea destination. It is the first impression visitors have, and their parting memory when they leave. The brand echoes the qualities of the five-star hospitality guests will enjoy across the destination.”
To find out more about Red Sea International Airport’s latest developments, click here.
