According to the General Authority of Civil Aviation, Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation sector experienced a steep growth in 2025, and the passenger traffic was above 140 million up to 9 percent higher than it had been in previous year.
Press release stated that the figures were presented at the 19th meeting of the National Aviation Sector Strategy Activation Steering Committee in Riyadh, chaired by Abdulaziz Al-Duailej, president of GACA.
This follows the introduction of Saudi Arabia to a projected 122 million visitors in 2025, bringing the country closer to its Vision 2030 goal of obtaining 150 million tourists per year and solidifying the role of aviation in economic diversification.
It was a growth year in terms of global connectivity, with international destinations rising to 176 and Saudi Arabia hosting three of the busiest air routes in the world. Al-Duailej attributed this achievement to the “unlimited support” of the leadership of the country, citing aviation as one of the major facilitators of Saudi Vision 2030.
The release reported, “He added that 2025 saw further strengthening of the competitive environment and the attraction of global investment, through the approval of new national carriers such as Riyadh Air and the Air Arabia alliance, as well as the licensing of major international companies including FedEx and Swissport.”
There was also further empowerment in the private aviation sector, and the national airlines were very active in localizing the aviation industry and enhancing the efficiency of the operations and engineering service.
Al-Duailej has discussed the main aspects of the 2026 plan, which is aimed at empowering the private sector to build airports and expand capacity, and the introduction of more than 30 new routes.
The release added, “He stressed the importance of full preparedness by all operational teams and harnessing national talent to serve pilgrims, with the aim of delivering a seamless, spiritually enriching travel experience that reflects qualitative progress in logistics services and the Kingdom’s global leadership.”
Al-Duailej also announced the official release of the fourth edition of the Future Aviation Forum, which will take place in Riyadh in April.
The forum has been officially supported by the International Civil Aviation Organization as one of the most influential global platforms to mold the future of aviation and address its most significant challenges with an ambitious Saudi vision, uniting industry leaders internationally.
The meeting was attended by several top officials and reviewed progress on the Aviation Sector Activation Program. This program, which is one of the pillars of the National Transport and Logistics Strategy, is intended to make the Kingdom an international logistics center uniting three continents and a primary aviation hub in the Middle East.
