Top 3 Headlines
Emirates’ deals and delights await
Emirates is offering a sweet deal for winter travel to Dubai, where travellers can book a return flight by 21 December and score two epic experiences including a 90-minute sunset dinner cruise in Dubai Marina with Xclusive Yachts and entry to Arte Museum Dubai, a multi-sensory digital art experience. Plus, grab the My Emirates Pass for 700+ discounts on retail, dining, and leisure across Dubai. Travel must be completed between 7 January and 18 March 2026, 2026. Meanwhile, the carrier has released new amenity kits on long-haul flights featuring eco-friendly materials and Aveda wellness products, highlighting endangered species. They’re also introducing Premium Economy on retrofitted Boeing 777 flights between Dubai and Beirut from 6 January, and Dubai and Beijing from 1 February 2026.
Meanwhile, the Emirates Airline Foundation and Emirates Auction are hosting an online auction (from today, 17 Dec 2025 to 17 Jan 2026) for exclusive Emirates Skywards Platinum membership numbers with up to 20 years of benefits, with 100% of proceeds supporting 14 NGOs in 9 countries aiding vulnerable children.
Riyadh Air is looking digital skies ahead
Riyadh Air is teaming up with tech giants Huawei and IBM to become the world’s first AI-native airline. This means they’re building their operations from scratch with AI at the core, aiming to revolutionise the travel experience. With Huawei, they’re focusing on China, leveraging Huawei’s tech and local reach to create a seamless digital ecosystem. And with IBM, they’re implementing AI-driven workflows, virtual assistants, and predictive maintenance to boost efficiency and customer satisfaction. Riyadh Air’s vision is massive, with the aim of connecting 100 destinations by 2030 and transforming Saudi Arabia into a global aviation hub.
Air Arabia launches longest low cost UK-UAE route
Air Arabia is launching twice-daily flights from London Gatwick to Sharjah, UAE, on 29 March 2026, with a journey time of approximately 7 hours and 50 minutes. This will be the UK’s only direct service to Sharjah and Air Arabia’s longest route from the UK, operated on Airbus A321LR aircraft. Passengers to note that Air Arabia is a ‘dry’ airline, strictly banning alcohol on its flights due to cultural and legal restrictions in the UAE and other Muslim-majority regions it operates in. The new route responds to high demand for Middle East connectivity from London Gatwick, which saw a 22.7% increase in passenger numbers this summer. Meanwhile, the carrier has begun daily non-stop flights from Sharjah to Munich, its first direct German route from the UAE, operated by its new Airbus A320neo aircraft.
Noteworthy
- flydubai has launched direct flights from Dubai to Riga and Vilnius three times per week, becoming the first UAE carrier to offer nonstop links to Latvia and Lithuania. Both routes operate via DXB with seamless Emirates codeshare connectivity, opening up Dubai and its wider global network to Baltic travellers and boosting tourism and trade in both directions.
- EgyptAir is ramping up its services between Cairo and major Italian cities like Rome and Milan in response to rising demand and growing Italian tourism into Egypt.
- Saudi Arabia has partnered with US-based Archer Aviation to introduce VTOL air taxi services, marking a major step toward advanced urban air mobility in the Kingdom. The initiative will develop regulatory frameworks, safety standards, pilot test flights and infrastructure planning to support phased commercial deployment.
- flynas has introduced dedicated ‘Kids and Family’ check-in counters at Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport to reduce waiting times and ease congestion for parents travelling with children. The new service reflects a wider aviation shift toward more tailored airport experiences rather than one-size-fits-all passenger processing.
- Oman Air has announced new approved routes connecting Muscat with Copenhagen, Baghdad and Taif, alongside a new international route linking Salalah and Moscow. The network expansion strengthens Oman’s air connectivity across Europe, the Middle East and Russia, supporting inbound tourism.
- Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport has hit a record 50 million passengers in 2025, the highest figure ever recorded at a Saudi airport. The milestone reflects Jeddah’s role as a key gateway to the Two Holy Mosques and as a growing regional hub, with plans to further increase capacity in coming years.
- Royal Air Maroc will launch a new Casablanca-Los Angeles route on 7 June 2026, operating three weekly Boeing 787 flights in under 12 hours. Timed just ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and Morocco’s 2030 co-hosting, the service strengthens transatlantic connectivity and links North Africa directly to a major US gateway.
- Etihad Airways carried 2.1 million passengers in November 2025 (up 28% YoY) bringing total traffic to 20.2 million passengers for the first 11 months of the year. The airline maintained a strong 89% load factor while expanding its network with new routes to Tunis, Hanoi, Chiang Mai, Hong Kong and Medina.
- Turkish Airlines has launched flights to Phnom Penh, making Cambodia its 7th country in Southeast Asia and expanding its Far East network to 20 cities. Operating three times a week between Istanbul and the Cambodian capital, the new route deepens business and tourism links.
