flyadeal, Saudi Arabia’s fast-developing low-cost airline, wrapped up 2025 in resounding fashion with record-breaking achievements and milestones that marked 12 months of continuous growth.
Passenger numbers grew 33 per cent to surpass the 10 million mark for the first time in a calendar year and, in doing so, far outstripped the 21 per cent seat capacity increase during 2025. The airline operated 66 per cent more routes compared with 2024, boosted by additional aircraft, international expansion and its biggest ever uplift of Hajj and Umrah pilgrims from around the world.
Seasonal and year-round scheduled destinations served increased 50 per cent across Saudia Arabia, in the Middle East, Europe, North Africa and South Asia, while the number of worshippers flown into the Kingdom on dedicated pilgrim flights increased by over 100 per cent to 220,000.
A new Operations Control Centre, four times bigger than the older facility, was opened to cope with expansion; Madinah was announced as the airline’s fourth operational base; flyadeal became the first Saudi carrier to wet-lease aircraft into and out of the Kingdom; and in a regional airline first, began training Saudi cabin crew as accredited tour guides.
flyadeal stepped up its distribution strategy widening reach to travel agents by joining the global industry body International Air Transport Association (IATA). And in another first, the budget airline signed up to its first-ever loyalty scheme partnering with AlFursan, the rewards programme of sister carrier Saudia, that enables members to earn and burn reward miles on flights operated by flyadeal.
But the year was capped off in style with flyadeal consistently seen as the most punctual low-cost airline in the Middle East and North Africa with On-Time Performance (OTP) averaging almost 90 per cent for the full year. And for the second time in its history, flyadeal was the world’s most punctual airline in both the low-cost and full-service airline category in June 2025 achieving 91.77% operational performance based on flights within 15 minutes of scheduled arrival.
Steven Greenway, flyadeal Chief Executive Officer, said:
“2025 proved an incredible year for flyadeal with so many milestones and achievements to record. This demonstrated our focus on planning, innovating and investing in flyadeal’s network, fleet, resources and, more importantly, our people.
“We showed agility, ability and action – quick to respond to challenges and embrace opportunities. With a big international push opening new markets such as Pakistan and Syria, growing operations in Egypt and expanding our global reach for inbound pilgrim travel, we were able to scale up and act fast to build a healthy network of domestic and international routes during the peak summer season and throughout the year.
“Our foundation became stronger, bigger and better. Team flyadeal performed exceptionally well with drive and energy, and with 2026 promising to be yet another year of significant growth, exciting developments are in the pipeline across the company over the next 12 months.”
Captain Abdulaziz Bahri, flyadeal Chief Operating Officer, added:
“Working with 16 additional aircraft during the course of 2025, a mix of eight newly-delivered planes to boost our fleet for schedule flying and eight on wet-lease to handle complex yet well managed Hajj and Umrah operations from around the world, we showed our mettle to deliver arguably the best year in the history of flyadeal with record-breaking punctuality figures.”
Abdulrahman Ajabnoor, flyadeal Chief Financial Officer, explained:
“We are always shrewd in our financial decisions which last year saw flyadeal make a strategic commitment to invest in a dedicated fleet of brand new widebody aircraft to take us into the long-haul, low-cost market. With the backing of our parent Saudia Group, flyadeal continued to push the boundaries evolving into new areas while maintaining focus on keeping unit costs as low as possible to benefit consumers with lower fares.”
Rogier van Enk, flyadeal Chief Commercial and Customer Officer, commented:
“flyadeal continued to provide passengers with enhanced choices, whether flexibility
on fares purchased or additional service benefits. We introduced the biggest range of
product improvements during the year, widened our partnerships with the travel trade
and strengthened our domestic and international network with a big focus on
connecting tier one with tier two domestic cities
Customer service doesn’t start or end with the sale of a ticket; critically, we are present at every customer touch point to ensure service delivery of the highest standards and easier to do business with us that defines us from other operators.”
Mohannad AlSalmi, flyadeal Chief Information Officer, said:
“Here at flyadeal, investing in strong IT infrastructure and smart technology isn’t just important, it’s essential to running a successful airline. And we like to do things differently. Rather than relying heavily and only on external vendors, we’ve built a powerful in?house team capable of designing and delivering projects that make our business competitive and keep our operations smooth 24/7. In 2025 alone, our IT team played a key role in mission?critical initiatives which delivered real, measurable impact across the business. They’re tech experts through and through, but what truly sets them apart is their business mindset and their drive to create meaningful efficiencies. Proud of the team and the work we’re building together.”
Mohammed Mudhish, flyadeal Chief People Officer, stated:
“The strength of any company is in its people
With over 1,800 employees in just eight years of operations, we are building our human capital in line with Saudi Vision 2030 to develop an airline that actively contributes to government objectives of creating a dynamic aviation industry. Our continued focus is on attracting top Saudi professionals, and both recruiting and training Saudi talent through schemes such as student internships and cadet pilot programmes that embrace the spirit of national pride.”
Yasir Malak, flyadeal Chief Audit, Risk and Compliance Officer, asserted:
“2025 was a year when we were pushed to our limits, yet strengthened resilience in the face of adversity, ensured greater efficiency in an evolving operating environment, and were fully prepared for the challenges of tomorrow. As guardians of flyadeal’s integrity and reputation, we focus on people, processes and systems working to the best of their capacity. In a dynamic environment like ours where we continue to engage with broader audiences, this represents a truly exciting opportunity for us to adapt and align with the company strategy, while maintaining full compliance and managing our exposure in line with the Board’s mandate.”
2025 Operational Highlights (with some 12-month comparisons over Jan – Dec 2024)
- Flew 10.7 million passengers (+33 per cent) to cross 10m for the first time in a calendar year.
- Seat capacity (+21 per cent).
- Operated 159 routes (+66 per cent) from flyadeal’s three bases in the Kingdom.
- 43 seasonal and year-round scheduled destinations (+50 per cent).
- Fleet reached 44 Airbus A320 aircraft (+8).
- Operated eight wet-leased aircraft (+5).
- Flew 220,000 Hajj and Umrah passengers on dedicated pilgrim flights (+107 per cent).
- Wet-leased aircraft from Asia’s Cebu Pacific as part of wide-ranging strategic commercial pact.
- Placed first-ever widebody order – 10 Airbus A330s.
- Launched five destinations in Pakistan which marked flyadeal’s entry into South Asia.
- Introduced scheduled flights to the Syrian capital Damascus for the first time.
- Madinah announced as flyadeal’s fourth operational base in Saudi Arabia.
- Most punctual low-cost airline in Middle East and North Africa throughout 2025 (Cirium data).
- Globally number one for On-Time Performance in June 2025 (Cirium data).
- Opened new Operations Control Centre – four times bigger than previous facility at Jeddah HQ.
Key Achievements and Milestones (2025):
- Headcount topped 1,800 employees (+26 per cent).
- New govt-backed Saudi cadet pilot training programme. Target 150 pilots over 24 months.
- Introduced the company’s first-ever student internship programme.
- Launched a regional first: Saudi cabin crew trained as certified national tour guides.
- Joined AlFursan, loyalty rewards programme of sister airline Saudia.
- Signed up with Amadeus – airline’s first agreement with a Global Distribution System.
- Joined global industry body, International Air Transport Association (IATA).