Singapore Airlines has pushed back the launch of its new Riyadh service yet again, with SQ498 and SQ499 now due to take off on 28th March 2027, nearly four months later than the most recently planned 1st December 2026 start.
The airline has also dropped its plan to step up to the route’s original four flights a week from next summer. Instead, the route will now operate three times weekly from day one, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays in both directions.
That puts paid to Riyadh beating Dubai back to the SIA network, as was briefly scheduled when the airline confirmed the latest Dubai postponement last week. If both plans hold, Dubai will now return almost four months ahead of the Saudi capital.
Riyadh now starts in March 2027
Singapore Airlines has now formally pushed back the route’s start, with no Riyadh flights operating in either direction before 28th March 2027, the first day of the northern summer 2027 (NS27) season.
As with the previous two postponements, Riyadh doesn’t feature in SIA’s standing Middle East travel advisory, which at the time of writing still lists only the Dubai flights, and was last updated on 1st October 2026.
This is now the fourth launch date for the route, which will have slipped by nearly ten months from its originally proposed 2nd June 2026 start. Here’s how it has unfolded so far:
- 2nd February 2026: SIA announces its return to Riyadh from 2nd June 2026, four times weekly with the A350 Medium Haul
- 10th February 2026: Flights loaded for sale, with four Saver Business Class awards on most services
- 28th February 2026: Military strikes trigger widespread Middle East airspace closures, grounding SIA’s Dubai flights
- 3rd April 2026: Launch pushed back to 1st September 2026
- 16th July 2026: Launch pushed back again to 1st December 2026, with winter flights cut to three times weekly
- 7th October 2026: Launch pushed back to 28th March 2027, with three weekly flights now planned from the get-go
By the time the first flight does depart, the Saudi capital will have gone more than 12 and a half years without a Singapore Airlines service, following the route’s withdrawal in September 2014.
(Photo: Tati Odintsova)
Only three flights a week, even in summer
When SIA last moved the launch in July, it removed Saturday flights from the winter schedule, but kept four flights a week from 28th March 2027. That increase has now gone too.
The original plan had flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. The Saturday rotation is now off the schedule for summer 2027 as well, leaving just Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays in both directions.
Singapore Riyadh
28 Mar 2027 – 30 Oct 2027
| Days | |||||||||
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S | |||
 |
SQ498 A350 MH |
||||||||
| SIN 18:20 |
RUH 21:45 |
||||||||
| Duration: 08:25 | |||||||||
|
SQ499 A350 MH |
||||||||
| RUH 23:00 |
SIN 12:15* |
||||||||
| Duration: 08:15 | |||||||||
* Next day
In capacity terms, that’s 120 Business Class seats and 789 Economy Class seats a week in each direction, down from 160 and 1,052 under the original plan.
Cutting frequencies on a route that has yet to operate a single flight, for a season that’s still almost six months away, suggests the airline is tempering its expectations on this one, at least initially.
At around 8 hours 25 minutes from Singapore in the summer schedule, Riyadh will still be SIA’s longest route featuring 2018 Regional Business Class, though the near-nine-hour winter sectors against the strongest headwinds now won’t feature until NW27/28 at the earliest.
(Photo: MainlyMiles)
Dubai back first after all
Last week’s twist, which had Riyadh launching on 1st December 2026, a day before Dubai’s planned 2nd December return, has now been reversed.
SIA’s advisory still shows SQ494 and SQ495 cancelled only until 1st December 2026. If that date holds, Dubai will be back nearly four months before Riyadh, using the two-class A350 Medium Haul through the winter.
By coincidence, 28th March 2027 is also the date Dubai is scheduled to step up to the four-class Boeing 777-300ER, so both of SIA’s Middle East routes would see their next big change on the same day.
(Photo: Diego Delso)
Over at Scoot, Jeddah flights remain cancelled until 2nd December 2026.
If all three plans hold, the SIA Group’s Middle East network will restart in two stages: Dubai and Jeddah in early December, then Riyadh at the end of March.
What if you’re booked?
If you hold a ticket on SIA’s Riyadh flights between 1st December 2026 and 27th March 2027, those flights will no longer operate, and you should be entitled to a full refund of the unused portion.
Bookings on Saturday flights in either direction from 28th March 2027 onwards are also affected, since those services have now been dropped from the summer schedule.
Those who booked directly with the airline can apply through SIA’s Assistance Request Form. Bookings made via travel agents or partner airlines should be handled by the agent or airline concerned.
SIA also recommends keeping your contact details up to date via Manage Booking so you receive flight status updates.
If you’ve redeemed KrisFlyer miles on any of the affected Riyadh flights, expect to be contacted with rebooking or refund options.
KrisFlyer awards
Riyadh sits in Zone 10 on the KrisFlyer award chart. Here are the one-way rates you’ll pay by cabin on the Singapore – Riyadh route.
| KrisFlyer Redemption Rates One-Way Singapore ⇄ Riyadh |
||||
| Airline / Cabin | Saver | Advantage | Access | |
 |
Economy Class |
32,000 |
66,500 |
95,500 |
|
Business Class |
68,000 |
122,000 |
157,500 to 251,500 |
Taxes and fees come to around S$68 from Singapore to Riyadh, and SAR 173 (around S$58) from Riyadh to Singapore.
With the route now not starting until 2027, every new redemption on these flights will attract Singapore’s SAF levy in the ex-Singapore direction, since it applies to redemptions made from 1st October 2026 for travel on or after 1st January 2027. That adds S$25.60 in Business Class or S$6.40 in Economy Class.
Flights from 28th March 2027 are already well within SIA’s 355-day booking window, which currently stretches to late September 2027, so the first six months of the revised schedule can be booked now.
Award space still looks plentiful from the new start date, too.
Summary
Singapore Airlines has pushed back its Riyadh launch for a third time, to 28th March 2027, nearly ten months after the original 2nd June 2026 start date.
The route will also launch at just three flights a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, with the four-times-weekly operation, planned both originally and then from next summer, now dropped.
That means Dubai, assuming its 2nd December 2026 return holds, will be back almost four months before Riyadh, reversing last week’s unusual situation where the new route was set to beat the established one back.
Anyone booked on Riyadh flights from December to March, or on a Saturday service from late March, should expect to be contacted with rebooking or refund options.
Given how this year has gone for SIA in the Middle East, we’d treat 28th March 2027 as the latest target rather than a certainty. We’ll keep tracking both routes, along with Scoot’s Jeddah service.
(Cover Photo: Shutterstock)