Saudi low-cost carrier flynas has started offering direct flights to India's commercial hub Mumbai from Riyadh. The airline has been robustly expanding its flight network lately, adding several destinations in Asia, Africa, and Europe, and Mumbai's addition is part of its larger growth plan.

Flights to Mumbai

flynas has started connecting Saudi Arabia with Mumbai (BOM) by offering direct flights to the Indian city. On October 20th, the airline flew its first scheduled service to Mumbai from Riyadh (RUH).

The carrier deploys its Airbus A320 on the route, which has a scheduled departure from Riyadh at 20:20 and a scheduled arrival in Mumbai at 03:05. This will be a daily service.

flynas will also offer direct flights between Dammam's King Fahd International Airport (DMM) to BOM from October 30th. The four-times-a-week service will be offered on Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.

Mumbai has recently seen new flights to the Middle East by other airlines as well. On September 22nd, IndiGo started flying between BOM and Al Khaimah International Airport (RKT), which was also its 100th destination. Ras Al-Khaimah doesn't have many nonstop options from India. Calicut International Airport (CCJ) in Kerela is the only Indian airport with direct connectivity to RKT. The route is served by Air India Express with twice-weekly flights on Tuesdays and Fridays.

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IndiGo also announced a direct flight between Mumbai and Istanbul (IST) from January 1st, 2023, on top of its existing Delhi (DEL)- Istanbul flight. Recently, Vistara also began flying between Mumbai and Abu Dhabi (AUH) with a once-daily service.

Expansion mode

As part of the Saudi Arabian national Air Connectivity Program to link Saudi Arabia with at least 250 international destinations by 2030, flynas has also added several destinations across the world to its network.

In August, it announced multiple weekly flights to Algiers, Almaty, Casablanca, and Marseille, and from November, it will also upgrade its frequency between Jeddah and Tashkent from twice a week to daily.

These flights align with the airline's expansion strategy, which hopes to connect the world to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. flynas hopes to reach 165 domestic and international destinations.

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In March, the airline increased its outstanding aircraft orders to 250. This would possibly allow it to become the largest low-cost airline in the Middle East.

Per ch-aviation, flynas has 36 active aircraft, of which 25 are Airbus A320neos and the rest the older generation A320s.

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