Will Riyadh Air Serve Alcohol?

We recently covered the launch of Riyadh Air’s aircraft interiors as the airline seeks to take on the likes of Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar for dominance within the Middle East. Whilst more competition is a good thing for passengers, resulting in lower fares, and upgrading of services as airlines fight each other for every passenger, one question mark remains about Riyadh Air, will they serve alcohol onboard?

Who are Riyadh Air?

Riyadh Air Boeing 787-9

You are most certainly forgiven for having never heard of this airline before now. Riyadh Air launched back in March 2023, and is a start-up backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, and the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman. The short goal is to get the airline in the air by the end of the year. Long term plan, serving over 100 destinations by 2030, with the hopes to rival the other big Middle-East hard hitters of Qatar, Etihad and of course Emirates. 

In the above article, we left the question open about whether they will serve alcohol on board. As a Saudi Arabian based carrier, they are bound by the laws of the Kingdom prohibiting alcohol. As the country opens up to outside tourism, there was speculation as to whether Saudi Arabia would carve out exceptions, whether that would be to air travel, or foreigners in designated areas within the country. The Maldives does something similar in that alcohol can only be bought and consumed within resort islands, and not local islands such as the capital, Male.

Now, Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas has spoken up on this subject in a question asked to him by Australian publication, Executive Traveller. 

“We’ll work within the legal framework that is present at any point in time,” Douglas responds.

“At the moment, alcohol is prohibited within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and therefore we will work with that as being the current legislation.”

“If over time things change, we’ll adapt and adjust accordingly,” Douglas says”

So as things stand, there will be no alcohol being served on board Riyadh Air. This may be viewed negatively, but alcohol does have a dehydrating effect, doubly so due to the cabin pressure, so by leaving out alcohol from your onboard routine you could finish your flight feeling fresher.

But, Tony Douglas does clearly leave the door open to change in the future.

Executive Traveller also noted that “The first small steps have already been taken, with last year’s opening of a liquor shop in Riyadh selling beer, wine and spirits exclusively to non-Muslim diplomats of foreign countries.”

The country is looking to massively expand tourism as part of Vision 2030, with an ambitious plan aiming to bring 150 million visitors annually to the Kingdom. With projects such as “Red Sea Global” developing luxury resorts along the Red Sea, could we see exceptions being granted to the resorts, as the Maldives allows? Currently these resorts, such as Shebara, serve non-alcoholic versions of well known products.

Shebara Overwater Villa

So, could we see alcohol served in a restricted way onboard, say to non-citizens only? Time will tell. 

Sam