Beond, an airline specializing in the premium travel segment, will add new direct connections to Red Sea International Airport in Saudi Arabia to its flight schedule from the end of 2026. From December 2026, the company plans three weekly flights from London, Paris, Moscow, and Zurich, as well as two weekly rotations from Munich.
Furthermore, the route from Milan, which was served last winter, will be resumed from October 2026 with two flights per week. With this move, the airline is expanding its route network in the Middle East and directly connecting European cities with the tourist region on the Red Sea.
For its flight operations, the airline is using Airbus A319 and A321 aircraft, which are equipped with a full business-class layout featuring lie-flat seats. The project is being implemented in close cooperation with Saudi governmental and semi-governmental institutions, including the Saudi Air Connectivity Program, the Saudi Tourism Authority, and the developer Red Sea Global. These programs support the country's connection to international passenger traffic in order to advance the goal of diversifying tourism revenue, a goal enshrined in the "Vision 2030" economic policy.
The expansion of the routes coincides with the phased completion of extensive hotel and infrastructure projects on the Saudi west coast. Red Sea International Airport, primarily designed to serve luxury holidaymakers, acts as a central gateway. By integrating hubs such as Munich, Zurich, and London, Saudi development companies aim to attract high-spending tourists directly, eliminating the need for passengers to transfer to major airports in Riyadh or Jeddah.
Aviation analysts, however, consider Beond's business model, which focuses solely on exclusive leisure connections, to be risky. Its reliance on subsidies and government start-up funding through programs like the Saudi Air Connectivity Program suggests that the routes would be difficult to operate economically without such support. Whether aircraft occupancy remains stable outside the peak travel season depends on the continued influx of international guests, for whom Saudi tourism projects face global competition.