Riyadh Air has taken an important step toward entering the Chinese market after receiving regulatory approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) to launch scheduled flights linking Riyadh with Beijing and Shanghai.

According to the list of international routes approved during the second quarter of 2026, the new Saudi carrier has been authorized to operate three weekly flights between Riyadh and Beijing, while four weekly services have been approved for the Shanghai route. In both cases, the authorization covers passenger and cargo operations, Aviation Week reports.

Riyadh Air has not yet announced when ticket sales or flights to China will begin. The regulatory approval therefore does not necessarily mean that the routes will be launched immediately, but it enables the carrier to continue operational preparations, negotiate arrangements with airports and incorporate the new destinations into its schedule.

The expansion into China forms part of Riyadh Air’s accelerated international network development following the arrival of its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. The airline has already launched flights from its base at King Khalid International Airport to Jeddah, Cairo, Dubai and London Heathrow.

Its network is expected to expand further over the coming weeks and months to include Dhaka, Kuala Lumpur, Madrid, Malaga, Manchester and Mumbai. The airline began selling tickets for some of the new destinations in early June following the arrival of its first three Boeing 787-9s, with individual route launches scheduled throughout the summer and early autumn of 2026.

Approval for the Chinese routes comes after Riyadh Air also received authorization from the U.S. Department of Transportation in June to operate services to the United States. Specific U.S. destinations and launch dates have not yet been announced.

China represents one of the key markets in the airline’s long-term strategy. Riyadh Air representatives held meetings with Chinese regulators, airports and airlines in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai as early as 2023, laying the groundwork for future air links between the two countries. In 2024, the airline also signed a memorandum of understanding with China Eastern Airlines, which already operates between Shanghai and Riyadh.

Saudia currently holds the largest share of capacity in the market between Saudi Arabia and mainland China. According to OAG data cited by Aviation Week, the Saudi flag carrier accounts for approximately 60% of scheduled seats during the 2026 summer season, while the remaining capacity is provided by Hainan Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Air China and China Eastern Airlines.

The largest existing airport pairs include Guangzhou–Riyadh, Guangzhou–Jeddah, Haikou–Jeddah, as well as services linking Beijing and Shanghai with Riyadh. Riyadh Air will therefore compete not only with Saudia but also with several major Chinese airlines that have gradually increased their presence in Saudi Arabia in recent years.

As part of the same approval process, the CAAC also authorized several other international routes proposed by foreign airlines. Air Algérie received approval to operate three weekly flights between Algiers and Shanghai Pudong, with services scheduled to begin on October 25 using Airbus A330-900neo aircraft.

Additional approvals were granted to South Korea’s Jin Air for routes from Seoul to Yantai and Yichang, Sun PhuQuoc Airways for services from the Vietnamese island of Phu Quoc to Beijing and Chengdu, and Russia’s Rossiya Airlines for flights linking Krasnoyarsk with Guangzhou and Shanghai.

Riyadh Air, which is owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, aims to develop a network of more than 100 destinations by the end of the decade. Alongside its network expansion, the airline is also considering further fleet growth. According to Reuters, the carrier is evaluating the conversion of options into firm orders for an additional 25 to 30 Boeing 787s, as well as a possible expansion of its Airbus A350-1000 order.