Saudia to begin Riyadh-Moscow flights for World Cup

Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) said on Saturday it would start direct flights from Riyadh to Moscow in the summer for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Saudia will begin the service on June 12, two days ahead of the tournament’s opening match between the Saudi national team and Russia at Moscow’s Lozhniki Stadium on June 14.

Flights will take place daily and the carrier said it would soon announce packages including air tickets, match tickets, accommodation, transport and other services.

“The daily flights to Moscow will be operated by modern aircraft with flexible operation allowing for increased capacity and seat capacity whenever necessary,” Saudia said.

The carrier said it is also cooperating with airline partners to offer internal flights to the various Russian cities hosting matches throughout the tournament.

Saudia joins a host of regional carriers that have launched new flights to Moscow in recent months.

Sharjah-based low cost carrier Air Arabia announced over the weekend that its first flight to Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport was completed successfully on February 1.

The service will operate four times a week before becoming daily on March 1 and adds to the airline’s existing daily flight to Moscow’s Domodedovo International.

Read: Sharjah’s Air Arabia to fly to Moscow Sheremetyevo in 2018

Rival Flydubai also began daily flights to Sheremetyevo at the end of last year, adding to its daily service to Domodedovo, while Oman Air said today it planned to fly to Moscow in 2018.

Read: Flydubai to fly to Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport

Read: Oman Air to fly to Casablanca, Istanbul, Moscow in 2018