Saudi Arabia’s flynas resumes Iran flights for Hajj 2025
Flights from Mashhad to carry 35,000 Iranian pilgrims after nearly 10-year hiatus
DUBAI: For the first time in nearly a decade, a Saudi airline has resumed direct flights to Iran to transport pilgrims for the 2025 Hajj.
Last Saturday, flynas operated its first flight from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran, marking a major development in Saudi-Iranian relations. The flight's arrival and departure signalled a renewed commitment to religious and diplomatic cooperation following years of strained ties.
According to a Saudi civil aviation authority official who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, the resumed service is exclusive to pilgrims and not for commercial use. Flights will also be launched from Mashhad, enabling over 35,000 Iranian pilgrims to travel to the Kingdom.
Saudi Arabia’s budget airline flynas, which operates domestic and international routes, will manage this operation as the only Saudi carrier authorised for the pilgrimage transport.
Flynas lands in Iran
On Sunday, Saudi Ambassador to Iran, Abdullah Alanazi, received the inaugural flight at Tehran’s Al-Salam Hall. He announced the milestone on social media, posting: “I am pleased to receive the first Flynas flight at the international al-Salam hall in Tehran.”
Moments of receiving a Flynas aircraft at "Tehran Airport", transporting pilgrims for the Hajj season.@flynas is the first Saudi operator to return after a 10-year hiatus#Flynas pic.twitter.com/QxMbR8LU2G
— Global Transport (@ainalnaql_en) May 18, 2025
This move is the latest indicator of renewed cooperation since the two countries restored diplomatic relations in March 2023 through a China-brokered agreement. The 2016 rupture came after Saudi Arabia's embassy in Tehran and consulate in Mashhad were stormed during protests following the execution of popular cleric Nimr Al-Nimr.
Since the rapprochement, both nations have intensified dialogue and official exchanges. Iran and Saudi Arabia have reinstated ambassadors and held high-level visits, including the November 2023 trip by late President Ebrahim Raisi to attend a joint Arab-Islamic summit in Riyadh.
Iranian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Alireza Enayati, told Asharq Al-Awsat that flynas will transport part of the pilgrims from Tehran and Mashhad. He added that this move "will bolster and strengthen relations between the two countries" and foster deeper cultural exchange between their peoples.
Hajj 2025
Under the current arrangement, flynas is set to operate 224 round-trip flights through 1 July, covering the peak pilgrimage period. Iran Air, meanwhile, will manage the remaining transport responsibilities for Iranian pilgrims.
This year's Hajj is scheduled to begin in the first week of June, and pilgrims from around the world have already begun arriving in Saudi Arabia. The annual pilgrimage attracts millions and is one of the five pillars of Islam, making it a crucial spiritual duty for Muslims.
The resumption of flights follows a series of diplomatic gestures. In December 2023, Iran Air resumed operations between Mashhad and Dammam in eastern Saudi Arabia. A month later, in January 2024, flights for Umrah were suspended due to unresolved technical disagreements, only to be reinstated in April, enabling 90,000 Iranians to participate in Hajj 2024.
Flynas’s renewed role in the Hajj underscores the ongoing stabilisation of regional ties. In April 2025, Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman made a rare visit to Tehran, meeting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a gesture of continued outreach.
This development takes place against a broader backdrop of geopolitical negotiations, including indirect talks between Iran and the United States on reviving the nuclear accord. While US President Donald Trump recently hinted at progress during a Gulf tour, he also warned Tehran of swift consequences if a deal isn’t finalised.