Lucknow’s international air connectivity expanded on Wednesday with the launch of direct flyadeal flights to Jeddah, while a new Medina service is scheduled to begin later this week and a Bangkok route is due to follow later this month.
The Saudi Arabian low-cost carrier, a subsidiary of Saudia, will operate the Jeddah–Lucknow–Jeddah service three days a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays. The inbound service from Jeddah will operate as flight F3 1823, with the return flight listed as F3 1824.
Flyadeal is also scheduled to introduce a direct Medina–Lucknow–Medina service twice a week, on Thursdays and Saturdays. Flight F3 1827 will operate from Medina to Lucknow, while F3 1828 will serve the return journey. The service will add another direct Saudi Arabian connection for passengers travelling from the Uttar Pradesh capital.
The airline already operates flights between Lucknow and Dammam on Tuesdays and Fridays. Those services operate under flight numbers F3 1825 and F3 1826. Together, the Jeddah, Medina and Dammam links will give passengers more direct options for travel to Saudi Arabia from Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport.
Officials at the Lucknow airport, which is managed by Adani Airport Holdings Limited, said the expanded services would benefit passengers from Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring states. The routes are expected to serve people travelling for religious purposes, employment, business and family visits.
The direct Medina connection is particularly relevant for passengers undertaking Umrah and other religious journeys, as well as Indian expatriates working in Saudi Arabia. Direct flights can also reduce the need for passengers to travel through other Indian or Gulf airports, although the report does not provide details on fares, passenger volumes or expected load factors for the new services.
Lucknow airport currently has direct international connectivity to nine destinations across the Middle East: Muscat, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Dammam, Sharjah, Jeddah, Ras Al Khaimah, Riyadh and Medina. With flyadeal’s services, six international airlines now serve routes from the airport to destinations in the Gulf region.
The airport’s international network is scheduled to expand again later this month with the launch of Thai Air Asia’s direct Lucknow–Bangkok service. Once Bangkok is added, the number of international destinations served from Lucknow is expected to rise from nine to 10, extending the airport’s direct network beyond the Middle East into Southeast Asia.
