Saudi Arabia’s private aviation sector is undergoing a fundamental transformation, shifting from a luxury niche to a critical component of the Kingdom’s economic infrastructure under Vision 2030. In an exclusive interview, Vilma Vaitiekunaite, Vice President – Passenger Division, Saudi Arabia at Chapman Freeborn, outlined how giga-projects, business investment, and changing traveller behaviour are reshaping one of the world’s fastest-growing business aviation markets.
Domestic Growth Outpaces International
In 2024, business jet movements in Saudi Arabia surpassed 23,600 flights, a roughly 24% year-on-year increase. More tellingly, domestic traffic grew 26%, compared to 15% internationally. This shift reflects a market evolving from a traditional outbound wealth model into a dynamic internal mobility network. Executives, investors, and project teams are now moving constantly between Riyadh, Jeddah, NEOM, the Red Sea coast, and the Eastern Province, with Riyadh emerging as the command centre.
“The expectation today is not simply luxury — it’s speed, flexibility, and connectivity between emerging economic zones,” Vaitiekunaite said. “Business aviation becomes a productivity tool. A CEO can attend meetings in Riyadh, inspect a project site in NEOM, and be back the same evening.”
Vision 2030 and Giga-Project Demand
Vision 2030 is driving demand from multiple sectors: inbound investors, giga-project development teams, sports and entertainment movements, government travel, medical flights, and increasingly sophisticated local users. Projects like NEOM, The Red Sea Project, Diriyah Gate, and Qiddiya are creating entirely new domestic aviation corridors. Saudi Arabia is “probably one of the few places globally where private aviation growth still feels like the beginning rather than saturation,” Vaitiekunaite noted.
This aligns with broader trends in the region. For instance, Saudi Arabia’s THC recently expanded into fixed-wing business aviation with a Bombardier order, signalling confidence in the market’s trajectory. Meanwhile, the silver tourism market is also gaining traction globally, though Saudi’s focus remains on high-productivity business travel.
Changing Customer Profile
The profile of private aviation customers is broadening. Beyond ultra-high-net-worth individuals, corporate groups, sports teams, entertainment productions, and incentive travel are increasingly turning to charter flights. “Many clients are understanding that private aviation is not simply about luxury. It is about time, access, flexibility, confidentiality and operational efficiency,” Vaitiekunaite explained. She emphasised that comparing private jets to first class is misleading: “The real comparison is time, access, flexibility, and operational efficiency.”
Large-scale movements, such as those for Formula 1, international conferences, and entertainment festivals, require complex logistics. Vaitiekunaite noted that planning involves aircraft sourcing, crew legality calculations, and coordination across multiple stakeholders — far beyond simply “booking a jet.”
Implications for Travel Professionals
For airline executives, hoteliers, and tour operators, this shift presents new opportunities. As Saudi Arabia accelerates development timelines across multiple mega-projects, demand for seamless connectivity between emerging economic zones will only grow. The rise of domestic business aviation corridors also opens avenues for hospitality partnerships, particularly in luxury and MICE segments. The quiet luxury trend in hospitality design aligns well with the personalised, efficient service that business aviation clients expect.
Vaitiekunaite concluded: “Saudi Arabia is no longer only an oil story. It’s becoming a global business, tourism, entertainment, and investment hub. And private aviation naturally follows economic transformation.”
