- Total flight movements reached 713,000 (+5%), expanding connectivity across 170 destinations.
- The Kingdom was re-elected to the ICAO Council with the highest number of votes in its history, reaffirming global confidence in Saudi leadership in the aviation sector.
**Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – **The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has announced new record-breaking milestones in Saudi Arabia’s global connectivity performance, which has seen a continuous increase in passenger numbers and air connectivity.
103.1M passengers travelled via Saudi airports, while total flight movements reached 713,000, marking an increase of 9% and 5% respectively. The Kingdom’s connectivity has now expanded across more than 170 destinations, reinforcing the sector’s role in enabling Vision 2…
- Total flight movements reached 713,000 (+5%), expanding connectivity across 170 destinations.
- The Kingdom was re-elected to the ICAO Council with the highest number of votes in its history, reaffirming global confidence in Saudi leadership in the aviation sector.
**Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – **The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has announced new record-breaking milestones in Saudi Arabia’s global connectivity performance, which has seen a continuous increase in passenger numbers and air connectivity.
103.1M passengers travelled via Saudi airports, while total flight movements reached 713,000, marking an increase of 9% and 5% respectively. The Kingdom’s connectivity has now expanded across more than 170 destinations, reinforcing the sector’s role in enabling Vision 2030 and the National Transport and Logistics Strategy (NTLS).
The landmark figures were announced today, during the 18th Aviation Program Steering Committee (SteerCo), chaired by His Excellency, the GACA President, Abdulaziz Al-Duailej. His Excellency, Ahmed Al-Hassan, the Assistant Minister of Transport and Logistics, also attended the 18th meeting, organized by Saudia Cargo CEO Loay Mashabi.
Between January and September, Saudi airports handled 866,000 tons of air cargo, including 567,000 tons of origin-and-destination freight and 299,000 tons of transit cargo. Saudia Cargo’s global network was widened through partnerships with TAM Group, WFS, Cainiao, China Cargo Airlines, and FedEx.
With a record tally of 175 votes out of 184, the Kingdom’s re-election to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council for the 2026–2028 term represents the strong progression made in the industry. It reflects the global aviation community’s confidence in Saudi Arabia’s leadership, robust safety record, and its proactive role in shaping the future of sustainable and secure air transport.
On the record-breaking announcements, His Excellency, Mr. Abdulaziz Al-Duailej, said: “Saudi aviation is delivering sustained passenger and connectivity growth in support of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 agenda, providing unprecedented investment opportunities for the global aviation sector. The recent ICAO Council re-lection result reflects the constructive global leadership role Saudi Arabia is playing in aviation, strengthening international partnerships to deliver greater global connectivity and economic prosperity.”
The 18th SteerCo meeting also reviewed the significant progress made by Saudi Aviation in charter and private aviation, with VistaJet becoming the first international private operator to be granted authorization to conduct domestic flights in the Kingdom.
Special Economic Zones (SEZs), designed to accelerate air logistics, have also seen significant progression. The Riyadh Integrated Logistics Zone (SILZ) now hosts some of the most prominent tenants across numerous sectors, including Apple, SHEIN, Lenovo, Bahri, Chalhoub Group, Sapphire, and iHerb.