Gulf carriers are racing to capture surging demand for Ramadan and Umrah travel in 2026, with Saudia joining Qatar Airways, Emirates, Etihad, Gulf Air and Saudi low cost carrier flyadeal in rolling out new routes and capacity upgrades that will reshape air connectivity into the Kingdom during the holy month. With Ramadan 1447 expected to begin around February 18 or 19, 2026, airlines across the region are positioning new services to bring millions of pilgrims and visiting friends and relatives closer to Saudi Arabia’s holy cities and its fast expanding tourism hubs.

Ramadan 2026: A Pivotal Test of Saudi Arabia’s Aviation Ambitions

Ramadan 2026 will be one of the earliest major tests of Saudi Arabia’s aviation expansion strategy as it pushes to triple annual passenger traffic and welcome 150 million visitors by the end of the decade. Forecasts based on astronomical calculations suggest the fasting month will fall broadly between mid February and mid March 2026, coinciding with cooler weather and the peak period for Umrah travel ahead of the Hajj season.

For Saudi planners, that timing is fortuitous. The country has spent the past few years easing visa procedures for pilgrims and tourists, opening up new hotels in and around Makkah and Madinah, and unveiling entertainment destinations such as Qiddiya City near Riyadh. Airline capacity is the final piece of the puzzle, and carriers are now moving quickly to align their Northern Hemisphere winter and early summer 2026 schedules with anticipated Ramadan flows.

Airport operators in Jeddah, Madinah and Riyadh are preparing for a spike in late night and pre dawn traffic, when most Ramadan travelers prefer to fly. Adjusted working hours in Saudi Arabia and neighboring Gulf states during the holy month are also expected to shift peak travel patterns, favoring late evening departures and early morning arrivals that allow passengers to break their fast or take the pre dawn meal with family at home.

Saudia, the Kingdom’s flag carrier, has spent 2025 laying the groundwork for a significantly enlarged intercontinental network in 2026, positioning itself as a primary gateway for pilgrims and leisure visitors alike. The airline outlined more than ten new international destinations for 2025, including Vienna, Venice, Athens, Nice, Malaga, Bali and Antalya, broadening the funnel of European and Asian travelers who can connect directly into Saudi Arabia rather than via other Gulf hubs.

More recent schedule filings point to a second phase of growth that will come into effect from late March 2026, just as Ramadan draws to a close and Umrah traffic remains strong. Saudia plans to increase frequencies on several key long haul routes, including extra weekly flights from Jeddah to Paris and Toronto, as well as a step up in services between Riyadh and Washington. Industry schedules also show a consolidated London strategy, with Heathrow emerging as the single UK gateway served from Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam, offering improved connectivity for British based pilgrims and expatriates heading to the Kingdom around Ramadan.

Although many of these additional flights will build through the summer months, airline executives and analysts expect Saudia’s expanded network to be deployed aggressively in sales campaigns targeting Ramadan travel. By seeding new city pairs and boosting frequencies on high demand routes, the carrier is aiming to ensure that passengers from North America and Europe can reach Saudi Arabia with fewer connections and more choice of timings during the holy month.

Qatar Airways Deepens Its Footprint in the Kingdom

Qatar Airways is positioning itself as a major beneficiary of growing religious and leisure traffic to Saudi Arabia, committing to serve thirteen cities in the Kingdom with more than 150 weekly flights from early 2026. The carrier confirmed that from January 5, 2026 it will add Hail in northern Saudi Arabia to its network, with three weekly services linking the city to Doha’s Hamad International Airport. At the same time, it will lift frequencies to both Jeddah and Riyadh to seven daily flights each.

The expansion cements Doha’s role as an alternative hub for travelers from Asia, Europe and the Americas heading for Umrah or visiting friends and relatives in Saudi Arabia. With the new Hail service, Qatar Airways will offer coverage across virtually every major region of the Kingdom, from the Red Sea coast and holy cities to the central plateau and northern provinces, with schedules designed to feed long haul arrivals into Saudi bound departures throughout the day and night.

Executives at the airline describe Saudi Arabia as one of its fastest growing markets, citing several million passengers carried between the Kingdom and the global network in the past year. For Ramadan 2026, the combination of higher frequencies to Jeddah and Riyadh and new access to secondary cities is expected to relieve pressure on direct flights, by allowing passengers to route through Doha while still arriving at times aligned with local suhoor and iftar routines.

Emirates and Etihad Target Umrah and Short Break Demand

In the United Arab Emirates, both Emirates and Etihad are sharpening their focus on Saudi Arabia as short haul religious and leisure trips gain momentum. Emirates has already demonstrated its willingness to deploy wide body capacity specifically for Umrah peaks, operating a one off Airbus A380 service between Dubai and Madinah that became its shortest ever superjumbo flight. Industry observers see that move as a signal that additional ad hoc or seasonal A380 operations into Saudi Arabia could be introduced around major religious periods, including Ramadan 2026, if demand continues to rise.

Etihad, meanwhile, has expanded its Saudi network with the launch and resumption of services to Madinah from Abu Dhabi, adding to its existing routes to Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Al Qassim. With nearly one hundred weekly flights scheduled across five Saudi cities, Etihad is well placed to feed Umrah traffic from its growing long haul network, which is itself set to be boosted in 2026 with new services to destinations such as Palma de Mallorca, Salalah and additional European cities.

Both Emirati carriers are expected to lean on their extensive global sales channels to package Ramadan travel to the holy cities together with stopover stays in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. For many Muslims living in Europe, North America or Southeast Asia, the ability to combine a spiritual journey with a family holiday or shopping trip in the Gulf is proving increasingly attractive, and airlines are tailoring capacity and itineraries accordingly.

Bahrain based Gulf Air has also entered a new phase of long haul growth that is likely to benefit Ramadan travelers bound for Saudi Arabia. The airline recently resumed nonstop flights between Bahrain and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport after a hiatus of nearly three decades, operating the route with Boeing 787 9 aircraft. While the service is primarily aimed at tapping into business and leisure demand between the United States and the Gulf, it also offers a new one stop option into Saudi Arabia via a short hop across the King Fahd Causeway or onward codeshare connections.

Beyond Gulf Air, a growing number of regional airlines are adding Saudi destinations to their networks in time for 2026. Ethiopian Airlines has announced plans to connect Addis Ababa with Jizan in southern Saudi Arabia, while other carriers in the region are preparing new routes into cities such as Taif and additional points along the Red Sea coast. Combined with the expected launch of Saudi Arabia’s new national carrier Riyadh Air later in the decade, these moves signal intensifying competition for religious and diaspora traffic into the Kingdom.

For passengers, the proliferation of routes means greater choice in terms of price points, transit hubs and travel times around Ramadan. For Saudi tourism authorities, the influx of capacity from neighboring Gulf and African airlines provides additional reach into important feeder markets such as East Africa and the Indian Ocean, where large Muslim populations are increasingly looking for affordable access to Makkah and Madinah.

flyadeal and Other Low Cost Airlines Chase Budget Pilgrims

Within Saudi Arabia, low cost affiliates and independent budget carriers are racing to capture price sensitive pilgrims and domestic travelers for Ramadan 2026. flyadeal, the low cost arm of Saudia, has steadily expanded its narrow body fleet and route map across the Kingdom, focusing on high frequency services between major cities and tourist destinations. While the airline’s full Ramadan 2026 schedule has yet to be detailed publicly, industry watchers expect it to play a key role in distributing passengers arriving on Saudia and foreign long haul flights to secondary Saudi cities at competitive fares.

Other Saudi low cost operators, including flynas, are pursuing similar strategies. Flynas has already used previous Ramadan seasons to introduce new international links such as Madinah to Karachi and to significantly increase seat capacity during the holy month. With more aircraft deliveries planned through 2026 as part of a large Airbus order, the carrier is likely to intensify its presence on regional routes from Saudi Arabia to North Africa, South Asia and within the Gulf, offering pilgrims and visiting families additional low fare options.

The growing role of low cost airlines is reshaping the Ramadan travel landscape by pushing down average fares on short and medium haul routes and encouraging more flexible trip durations. Instead of booking a single long stay, many passengers are now combining multiple short visits across the holy month, made possible by dense, low fare networks that connect smaller cities directly to Jeddah, Madinah or Riyadh without the need to transit through legacy hubs.

Infrastructure, Scheduling and the Passenger Experience

The surge in capacity and new routes for Ramadan 2026 is placing added pressure on airports and regulators in Saudi Arabia and across the Gulf to ensure that infrastructure and processes can cope with peak demand. Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport and Madinah’s Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport have both undergone expansions in recent years, adding terminal space, contact gates and improved ground transport links. Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport is likewise in the midst of upgrades ahead of the expected launch of Riyadh Air.

Airports are coordinating closely with airlines to align slot timings with Ramadan specific travel patterns, opening more late night and early morning movements to accommodate passengers who prefer to fly between iftar and suhoor. Ground handling companies are hiring seasonal staff, while immigration and security services are preparing fast track arrangements for group tours and elderly pilgrims. Inside the terminals, food and beverage operators are adjusting opening hours so that passengers can access meals during non traditional times.

On board, carriers are tailoring the passenger experience to reflect Ramadan’s spiritual significance. Many airlines serving Saudi Arabia during the holy month adjust in flight catering to provide iftar boxes timed to sunset along the route, distribute prayer timetables and ensure announcements are sensitive to fasting practices. Some carriers suspend or limit certain forms of in flight entertainment during key prayer times, while crew receive additional training on how to support fasting passengers, including families traveling with children and the elderly.

Outlook: A More Connected Ramadan for Global Travelers

Looking ahead, industry analysts expect Ramadan 2026 to mark a turning point in how the global aviation system serves religious travel to Saudi Arabia. With Saudia stepping up its long haul footprint, Qatar Airways and Emirates deepening their roles as global connectors, Etihad and Gulf Air reinforcing links from Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, and low cost players such as flyadeal expanding access within the Kingdom, the market is entering a new phase of density and competition.

For travelers, that translates into more direct routes from an increasing number of cities worldwide, a broader choice of cabins and price points, and more tailored schedules that take into account the rhythms of fasting and prayer. For Saudi Arabia, it offers a powerful tool to support wider economic diversification and tourism strategies, ensuring that the country can welcome record numbers of pilgrims and visitors not just during Hajj, but throughout the holy month of Ramadan and beyond.

As airlines finalize their schedules and promo campaigns over the coming months, the focus will remain firmly on how effectively they can translate new routes and additional frequencies into a seamless experience for passengers traveling for one of the most important periods in the Islamic calendar. Early signs suggest that, by Ramadan 2026, the skies over the Gulf and the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah will be busier and more connected than ever.