Saudi Arabian low-cost carrier flyadeal opened a new direct route between Madinah and Karachi on September 8. The inaugural flight landed in Karachi the same day. This will be the company's seventh route to Pakistan and means that Karachi now receives flyadeal traffic from three Saudi cities.

The new route premiered on September 8, 2026 and will operate twice a week with Airbus A320neo with 186 economy class seats.

Madinah thus becomes flyadeal's third destination in Saudi Arabia with direct flights to Karachi, after Jeddah and Riyadh.

Expansion in Pakistan has been rapid. Flyadeal started with two routes to the country last year and has expanded the network to seven routes with the premiere of Madinah–Karachi.

“The launch of our new Madinah-Karachi route reflects our commitment to the Pakistani market, where we continue to see strong growth and demand across our international network,” says Abdulaziz Bahri, Chief Operating Officer at flyadeal.

Aiming for over 100 destinations

Flyadeal, part of the Saudia Group, is in the midst of a major international expansion. The company currently operates 47 Airbus A320 family aircraft and serves more than 40 seasonal and year-round destinations from its bases in Riyadh, Jeddah, Madinah and Dammam.

By 2030, the goal is to more than double both the fleet and route network to over 100 aircraft and destinations respectively.

The expansion also involves new aircraft types. From 2027, the Airbus A321neo will begin joining the current A320 fleet. Flyadeal also plans to enter the long-haul market with the Airbus A330-900neo.

The company placed its largest aircraft order to date in 2024 for 51 narrow-body aircraft – 12 A320neo and 39 A321neo. In addition, flyadeal will receive A330neo from the order for ten aircraft placed by Saudia Group in 2025.

Flyadeal started operations in 2017 and says it has since carried over 45 million passengers. In 2025, the airline passed the ten million passenger mark in a calendar year for the first time.