Air India and Saudi Arabia's national airline Saudia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen their partnership and improve air travel between India and Saudi Arabia. The agreement will expand their existing codeshare arrangement and open new opportunities for operational and commercial cooperation. Both airlines aim to offer passengers more travel choices and smoother connections as demand between the two countries continues to rise.

The MoU was signed by Saudia Group Director General H.E. Engr. Ibrahim Al-Omar and Air India Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Campbell Wilson. The agreement builds on the airlines' current partnership and sets a roadmap for closer collaboration in phases. The two carriers plan to improve connectivity across their networks and explore several new areas of cooperation.

As part of the agreement, Air India and Saudia will work on expanding their existing codeshare partnership. This move will allow passengers to access a wider range of destinations through a single booking. The airlines will also study the possibility of co-locating their airport terminals. Such an arrangement can make transfers easier and improve the overall travel experience for passengers.

The two airlines will also identify new operational and commercial opportunities. They plan to explore cooperation between their loyalty programmes. This step may allow frequent flyers to enjoy more benefits across both airline networks. The partnership also includes plans to assess extending cooperation to other airlines within their groups. These include Air India Express and flyadeal.

The agreement reflects the growing demand for travel between India and Saudi Arabia. Both countries continue to strengthen ties across several sectors. Air travel plays an important role in supporting business, tourism, and people-to-people connections. The expanded partnership aims to meet this increasing demand while offering passengers greater convenience.

H.E. Engr. Ibrahim Al-Omar, Director General of Saudia Group, highlighted the importance of India for the airline. He said, "India is an important market for Saudia, and Air India is a valued partner in strengthening travel links between our two countries. This partnership will offer guests greater choice, flexibility, and more seamless journeys across both networks as demand continues to grow."

He further added, "It will also create new opportunities for operational and commercial collaboration, supporting the growth priorities of both airlines and providing scope to broaden the relationship across our respective airline groups in the future."

Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Air India, also stressed the importance of the partnership. He said, "The relationship between India and Saudi Arabia continues to strengthen across multiple dimensions, creating significant opportunities for aviation to play an even greater role in connecting people, businesses, and the economies of the two nations."

He further added, "As carriers serving rapidly growing markets, Air India and Saudia are well positioned to deepen this relationship through closer collaboration. Together with Saudia, we look forward to exploring a range of new opportunities that will deliver greater value to our respective customers while supporting our long-term growth objectives, together."

According to Air India, the MoU creates a structured framework to expand cooperation across multiple areas. Both airlines continue to strengthen their international networks and improve customer services. The partnership supports their long-term plans while creating new opportunities for future growth.

The agreement also reflects Air India's broader strategy to expand its global partnerships. Since its privatisation in 2022, the airline has steadily increased its international collaborations. Air India now has 25 codeshare agreements with partner airlines. It also maintains more than 120 interline partnerships across the world.

These partnerships allow Air India passengers to access over 1,000 destinations through connected networks. The airline continues to build stronger international links while improving connectivity for travellers. The expanded partnership with Saudia marks another important step in this strategy. It also strengthens aviation ties between India and Saudi Arabia and supports the growing travel demand between the two countries.