Aviation History
Modern Saudi civil aviation traces to 1945, when a Douglas DC-3 gifted by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt to King Abdulaziz helped launch what became Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia), initially managed under contract by Trans World Airlines. Scheduled domestic service began in 1947, the carrier entered the jet age in 1962, and it became a fully independent state company in 1963. Saudia grew into one of the region's largest long-haul carriers, introducing the Boeing 747 in 1977, pioneering nonstop Jeddah-New York service in 1982, and joining the SkyTeam alliance in 2012 as its first Middle Eastern member. Since the 2016 launch of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia has pursued a large-scale aviation expansion, including the low-cost carrier flyadeal (2017) and the 2023 announcement of a second full-service national carrier, Riyadh Air, planned around the new King Salman International Airport; because this expansion is still actively unfolding as of 2026, specific operational dates, route launches and passenger figures should be treated as time-sensitive and unconfirmed.
Founded as a government aviation agency in September 1945 after President Roosevelt gifted King Abdulaziz a DC-3; operations were initially managed under contract by Trans World Airlines (TWA).
Scheduled service on the Jeddah-Riyadh-Hofuf-Dhahran route began in March 1947 using DC-3 aircraft, followed by early international routes to Cairo, Beirut, Karachi and Damascus.
The airline received Boeing 720 jets, becoming the fourth Middle Eastern carrier to operate jet aircraft.
In February 1963, King Faisal signed papers making the airline a fully independent registered company, ending TWA's management role.
Saudia began operating the Boeing 747 on long-haul routes, expanding its intercontinental capacity.
In July 1982, Saudia launched the first nonstop service between Jeddah and New York City using Boeing 747SP aircraft.
In May 2012, the airline rebranded as Saudia and joined the SkyTeam alliance as its first member carrier from the Middle East.
Saudia's budget subsidiary flyadeal began operations, part of a broader diversification of Saudi Arabia's domestic aviation market.
A second Saudi national carrier, Riyadh Air, wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund, was launched as part of Vision 2030, targeting a hub at the planned King Salman International Airport.
Saudia (Saudi Arabian Airlines) · Riyadh Air · flyadeal · flynas
General public/encyclopedic sources (Wikipedia, Saudia corporate history); Vision 2030-related items — Riyadh Air's operational rollout, King Salman International Airport's completion, and related figures — are actively evolving as of 2026 and should be treated as time-sensitive and unconfirmed.