Riyadh Air's First Flight Postponed to the End of the Year

The start of flights for Saudi Arabia’s new airline Riyadh Air has been delayed. The company was scheduled to take delivery of its first Boeing 787-9 aircraft in mid-2025, but the start of operations has been delayed as deliveries have been pushed back to the third quarter.

Airline CEO Tony Douglas said in January that he was optimistic about the delivery but that the process was not completely risk-free. Speaking at an event on February 20, Douglas said Boeing and Airbus were seeing a “modest improvement” in their supply chains. Riyadh Air will add Airbus A321 Neo aircraft to its fleet alongside Boeing 787-9s.

However, due to the delays, it seems unlikely that the airline will be able to make an early start as planned. Riyadh Air is expected to start commercial operations by the end of the year.