Saudia (SV, Jeddah International) has resumed passenger services to Turkey after a two-year gap caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and strains diplomatic ties between the two countries.
Flight SV257 from Jeddah International to Istanbul Airport resumed service on May 7, 2022, with the first flight operated by A330-300 HZ-AQL (msn 1513), Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows. The route was suspended in March 2020 when the pandemic spread around the world. It was reactivated in October 2020 as a cargo-only service but then suspended again at the end of August 2021.
Saudia said it would also fly to Istanbul from Madinah and Riyadh.
The carrier's resumption of passenger flights to Turkey comes in the wake of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's visit to Saudi Arabia in late April 2022 in which he pledged then to "reactivate a great economic potential" of cooperation between the two countries, which have had a sour relationship since the Arab Spring in 2011 due to their conflicting political interests in the region.
LCC rival flynas (XY, Riyadh) continues to serve Istanbul Sabiha Gökcen from Jeddah and Riyadh. It also flies from Riyadh to Bodrum Milas, Hatay, and Trabzon, the ch-aviation schedules module shows. Turkish carriers also continue to serve Saudi Arabia: Turkish Airlines (TK, Istanbul Airport) connects Istanbul with Dammam, Madinah, Jeddah, and Riyadh, while Pegasus Airlines (PC, Istanbul Sabiha Gökcen) operates from Sabiha Gökcen to Jeddah and Riyadh.
