flyadeal celebrates first anniversary of North Pakistan flights

Thursday 27th August 2026

flyadeal, the Saudia Group's fast-growing low-cost carrier, is marking the first anniversary of its operations to three northern Pakistan destinations: Islamabad, Peshawar and Sialkot.

One remarkable year of Pakistan operations

flyadeal began operating from the Saudi Arabian capital city of Riyadh to these three destinations in August last year, building on the successful launch of its Pakistan services to Karachi from Jeddah and Riyadh in February 2025. Lahore was subsequently added to flyadeal's network in October 2025, bringing the airline's Pakistan network to five destinations within less than a year of entering the market. Recently, flyadeal announced flights between Madinah and Karachi, the airline's seventh route to Pakistan, further strengthening connectivity between the two countries.

The anniversary highlights the rapid growth of flyadeal's operations to Pakistan, with the airline operating 90% more flights to Pakistan during the ongoing IATA Summer Schedule 2026 than it did during the same period in 2025. flyadeal currently operates 40 flights per week between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, of which 12 flights are to and from Islamabad, Peshawar and Sialkot.

"Pakistan has become one of flyadeal's most important international markets in a remarkably short time span, and our first year of operations across the country reflects the deep economic, cultural, and people-to-people ties between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Our role at flyadeal is to make travel more accessible, more frequent and more reliable for the communities that depend on these links. We are humbled by the response from customers and partners to our Pakistan services, which reaffirms our belief that travellers value our product, the quality of our service, and the reliability we offer."

Sanjiv Kapoor, flyadeal acting Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice President Strategies at Saudia Group

Between August 2025 and July 2026, flyadeal has carried close to 220,000 passengers between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, supporting travel between the two countries for visiting friends and relatives, business, employment, tourism and religious travel.

Expanding trade and local presence

Supporting this growth, flyadeal has significantly expanded its trade network since entering the market. The airline now works with over 1,100 registered travel agents, several OTA partners and major travel groups across Pakistan, creating a far broader distribution network in less than a year. To serve these partners and customers, flyadeal has established 10 sales and service outlets — five in major cities and five at airports — staffed by a dedicated team of representatives.

The continued expansion reflects flyadeal's commitment to providing customers with greater choice, convenient non-stop connectivity and competitively priced fares, while supporting the strong social, cultural and economic ties between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

flyadeal operates its Pakistan services with Airbus A320 family aircraft, offering customers direct connectivity between Saudi Arabia and key destinations across Pakistan.

flyadeal celebrates first anniversary of north Pakistan flights

About flyadeal

On 23 September 2017, National Day of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, flyadeal began operations with its historic maiden flight from Jeddah to Riyadh. A pioneer and innovator, flyadeal was the first regional low-cost airline to be launched only across digital distribution channels. Being the sister airline of full-service national carrier Saudia — both under the umbrella ownership of Saudi Arabian Airlines Corporation (Saudia Group) — flyadeal was created for the price-conscious and tech-savvy consumer in mind in a country where 80 per cent of the Saudi population is aged less than 40 years and has at least two mobile phones.

flyadeal has rapidly developed into one of the Middle East’s fastest growing airlines, operating a young fleet of 47 Airbus A320 family aircraft from bases in Riyadh, Jeddah, Madinah and Dammam to more than 40 seasonal and year-round destinations across Saudi Arabia, and in the Middle East, Europe, North Africa and South Asia.

By 2030, in line with Saudi Vision 2030, flyadeal expects to more than double its network and fleet to over 100 destinations and aircraft respectively. Aircraft additions include single-aisle Airbus A321neos and widebody A330-900neos joining the fleet from 2027.

flyadeal aims to stimulate travel, tourism and trade with its affordable, value for money everyday fares catering to leisure, religious, family and business travellers. Simplicity is key with an all-Economy Class cabin across flyadeal’s narrowbody fleet. As the Kingdom undergoes dramatic transformation through its Vision 2030 economic diversification drive, aviation and tourism are among the many sectors earmarked for dynamic growth. flyadeal is the fastest growing airline in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Middle East, recognised for excellence in on-time performance that is consistently above the global industry average.

Since its inaugural flight in 2017, flyadeal has carried over 45 million passengers. And in a significant 2025 milestone, flyadeal flew more than 10 million passengers for the first time in a calendar year. In May 2024, flyadeal placed its biggest ever aircraft order – 51 narrowbody jets comprising 12 A320neos and 39 larger A321neos – with a delivery schedule beginning in 2027. In addition, flyadeal will venture into the long-haul market with its own dedicated widebody aircraft as the first of 10 Airbus A330neos ordered by Saudia Group in April 2025 is due to be delivered next year. flyadeal’s robust expansion drive makes the rapidly growing airline one of the country’s most desirable companies to work for.