Saudi Arabia's national flag carrier Saudia has started flights to Moscow from Riyadh on October 10, as part of warming relations between the two oil giants. 

The launch of flights to Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport will boost Saudi tourist arrivals to Russia and travel to the kingdom despite Western sanctions on Moscow.

According to flight tracking data, the Saudia flight departed the King Khalid International Airport (RUH) at 09:30 a.m. local time and is expected to arrive in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo (SVO) at around 15:12 local time.

Russia welcomed 52,400 tourists from Saudi Arabia in 2024, more than five times the previous year's level.

This trend continued in 2025, with over 9,900 Saudi citizens arriving in Russia in the first six months, 50% more than the same period in 2024.

Since August 2025, budget Saudi airline Flynas has also begun direct flights from Riyadh, with services from Jeddah expected to start in late December.

Sergei Voitovich, head of the Russian Union of Travel Industry's international committee and founder of Svoy TS, said the launch of Saudia's flight programme was a major event for Russian tourism.

"This is very good news, as was the start of flights by budget Saudi carrier Flynas in August. Russia is popular with Saudi tourists. The potential tourist flow from Saudi Arabia significantly exceeds the just over 50,000 arrivals we had by the end of 2024.

We definitely lacked a direct flight to Russia until now; this was a key limiting factor," he said.

New regular flights from Saudi Arabia to Sochi, St Petersburg and Makhachkala are expected to open in 2026.

Russian data suggests that annual growth in tourist flow from the kingdom to Russia is forecast to remain at 25-30%, with the market potentially doubling by 2027 compared to 2024.

The Russian Union of Travel Industry is organising a roadshow in Saudi Arabia from October 17-22 to support the launch of Saudia flights, with at least 100 Saudi tour operators and agencies invited.

Russian tourist flow to Saudi Arabia is also growing rapidly, though not yet mass-market. In 2024, not only pilgrims but ordinary tourists, including families with children, travelled to the country.