Saudi Arabia’s national carrier has opened a direct air bridge to Pakistan, arriving just days after the two countries and Turkey sealed a mutual defense pact. The move is practical for millions of workers and symbolic of a relationship advancing on multiple tracks.
Riyadh Air’s flight RX-660 landed at Islamabad International Airport on the evening of August 14, 2026, marking the airline’s first service to Pakistan on the key South Asian country’s Independence Day.
The aircraft carried 69 passengers from Riyadh. After a brief ceremony it departed with 272 passengers aboard.
Pakistan Airports Authority officials and the Saudi ambassador to Pakistan, Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki, welcomed the arrival. Also present were Abdulaziz Al Ghamdi, director general of protocol, Naif Al Harbi, the commercial attaché, and Pakistani representatives from the Ministry of Defense and aviation authorities.
وصلنا إلى باكستان 🇵🇰
انطلقت أولى رحلاتنا إلى إسلام آباد، في خطوة جديدة ضمن توسّع شبكتنا المتنامية وربط الرياض بوجهات رئيسية حول العالم. pic.twitter.com/ovyo370VuB
— Riyadh Air | طيران الرياض (@RiyadhAir) August 14, 2026
The airline plans seven weekly flights between Riyadh and Islamabad starting at once. Service to Lahore is scheduled to begin August 18. Flights will use Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.
Riyadh Air described the landing as “another milestone in our expansion” connecting the Saudi capital to key destinations.
The Pakistan Airports Authority called the new route an “additional direct air link” between the two countries.
More of the world is now within reach 🌎
Islamabad, Lahore, and Manila are now part of our growing network, bringing more journeys within reach.
— Riyadh Air | طيران الرياض (@RiyadhAir) August 2, 2026
A Lifeline for the Diaspora
According to Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment (BEOE) more than two million Pakistanis live and work in Saudi Arabia. Recent estimates range from roughly 2.5 million to the 2.64 million, as per the latest statistics recorded in the 2023 census.
The Pakistanis form the Kingdom’s second-largest expatriate community. In 2025 alone, 530,256 Pakistanis left for jobs in Saudi Arabia—nearly 70 percent of Pakistan’s total official overseas employment that year and a 17 percent increase from 2024. Cumulative migration since 1972 exceeds 7.6 million, though many returns are temporary.
These workers send home the single largest share of Pakistan’s remittances. In the fiscal year that ended June 2026, overseas Pakistanis transferred a record $41.6 billion overall. Saudi Arabia accounted for $9.78 billion of that total, remaining the top source country.
Riyadh Air Begins Pakistan Operations.
Riyadh Air has commenced operations in Pakistan today with inaugural flight RX-660 arriving at Islamabad International Airport from Riyadh. pic.twitter.com/BKQPjAsr3m
— Pakistan Airports Authority (@Pk_PAA_Official) August 14, 2026
Monthly transfers from the Kingdom top Pakistan frequently top $700–900 million. State Bank of Pakistan data confirm Saudi Arabia’s consistent lead over the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and other origins as the origin of remittances.
More frequent flights reduce the cost and travel hassles for laborers, professionals, families and pilgrims. They also support rotation of skilled and semi-skilled workers needed for Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 mega-projects in construction, hospitality, healthcare, logistics and technology. Pakistan has publicly set targets to expand manpower deployment to the Kingdom in coming years.
Timing After the Makkah Pact
The expanded commercial link follows closely on the heels of a high-level security agreement. On August 7, 2026, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement in Mecca.
The pact states that an armed attack against any one of the three countries will be regarded as an attack against all. Officials from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have described it as purely defensive and open in principle to other regional states that share its goals.
It builds directly on the bilateral Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement that Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed in September 2025. That earlier pact already committed both sides to treat aggression against one as aggression against both.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye Sign Joint Defense Pact in Makkah
Ealier, this year acting under the bilateral arrangement, Pakistan deployed troops, JF-17 fighter jets, drones and an air-defense system to Saudi Arabia amid regional tensions.
Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar emphasized after the Makkah signing that the new trilateral accord “does not abrogate or replace any existing bilateral or multilateral agreements” and remains focused on collective deterrence and regional stability.
Broader Strategic Continuity
Saudi-Pakistani defense cooperation is decades old. Pakistani officers have trained Saudi forces, and Pakistani units have been stationed in the Kingdom at various points since the 1970s and 1980s. Financial support has flowed the other way: Saudi deposits with the State Bank of Pakistan, deferred oil payments and development financing through the Saudi Fund for Development have repeatedly eased Pakistan’s balance-of-payments pressures.
The new flights sit inside this longer pattern. They improve logistical connectivity at a moment when formal mutual-defense language has been elevated and practical military coordination has been demonstrated. The combination of labor markets, remittances and security alignment remains a central pillar of Pakistan’s external relationships. Reliable air links help sustain the workforce required by Vision 2030 while reinforcing ties with a nuclear-armed partner that has already shown willingness to deploy forces under the 2025 pact.
What the Route Adds
Daily service between the two capitals, plus the forthcoming Lahore flights, increases capacity on a corridor already served by Saudia, Pakistan International Airlines and several other carriers. Officials on both sides framed the launch in terms of strengthened bilateral relations, easier travel for the diaspora, and support for trade, tourism and religious pilgrimage.
The numbers are straightforward: more than two million Pakistanis in the Kingdom, nearly $10 billion in annual remittances from that community, half a million new workers in a single recent year, and now a new full-service airline offering seven weekly flights to Islamabad and three to Lahore. The bilateral relationship is set to expand in the years ahead.
Kiran Asim is a writer who covers the U.S., Europe, South Asia, and the Middle East. Her reports and analyses look at the geostrategic issues and contemporary developments and their economic and political implications. She also writes about society and education.
