I enjoy traveling by air in Saudi Arabia. It is much more relaxing than traveling in the West, particularly the USA and I also feel very secure when traveling. Just because in some ways air travel is more relaxed, Saudi Arabia in no way minimizes on security. However their security practices are slightly different than perhaps in other places. To begin with and consistent with most places, bags are x-rayed even before check in. But at that point differences take place. While there is not segregation per se at the airport, few women are seen at the ticket counters. Usually the man is the one in charge of checking in, getting the boarding passes and checking the luggage. The women will meanwhile sit in a designated area (for women of course). When proceeding to go through security in order to get to the gates, segregation continues with one area for men and another area for women. As a woman, I put my carry on onto the conveyor belt to be x-rayed and then I pass through a curtain to enter a small closet like room. In this room are usually two women who will perform a body pat followed by search with a wand. The majority of time I am asked to remove my shoes (even if slip on sandals) and a belt if I am wearing one. I’ve not really figured out why I am asked to remove my shoes for they are not put through x-ray or physically inspected so I’ve deduced it is to make me feel better. After I’ve been checked, I’ll exit through another curtain and then retrieve my hand luggage.
Unlike flights in the States it is still possible to carry many items in hand luggage such as make up, mouthwash, toothpaste and even such delicious like my mother-in-law’s homemade chutney which she always sends back with me. If we are heading to Makkah we will usually bring certain sweets and edibles that are special to Riyadh and on our return we are loaded with differing kinds of Makkah sweets or even zamzam water. Security has never given us a problem to carry such items.
Saudi flights continue to serve in-flight meals and snacks. These are usually quite tasty too. On longer flights one will receive an appetizing meal which is served using real silverware and dishes. Maybe that is also part of what makes the meal more enjoyable?
One aspect of flying in Saudi that I do find surprising in some ways and not in others is the lack of regard many Saudis give to in-flight rules. An occasional mobile will usually ring during a flight (and then the flight attendant will admonish the passenger for it still being on). Or when a flight lands, while it is still cruising on the runway many Saudis are already standing up and opening overhead compartments. And when the flight has stopped, watch out for it is usually like a stampede then!
Filed under: Saudi Arabia, travel
Wow, a meal on a flight. I barely remember those.. May I ask, when flying in-country what’s the average time, say from Khobar to Jeddah and cost? Reasonable? I guess what I should be asking is which state(s) (for examply) are comparable to KSA in size? How’s the leg room?
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Andrea,
The trip from Jeddah to Dammam (closest major airport to Khobar) is roughly just under 2 hrs. Saudi is too large to compare to a state. It is equivalent roughly to 1/4 the size of the combined 48 mainland states.
Andrea,
If you drew a line due south from the eastern edge of Montana Saudi Arabia would just about fill up everything west of that in the US. It is approximately 3.5 times the size of Texas. Certainly a lot bigger than I thought!
As far as the airport here in Riyadh goes, I always go to the ticket counter with my husband and he does all the talking. I never go and sit in the “ladies” area because usually its full of crying babies, and smoking MEN!
The ladies security is great in other countries in the gulf area, but here in KSA, I’m not impressed. Recently, I was greeted by 2 young girls who were laying down in their chairs, chomping on gum and talking on their mobiles. I had to wait for them to disconnect their calls before they “searched” me. Very, very unprofessional…and definately not at all concerned with the security of the airport.
Saudi Arabian Airlines is an excellent carrier, and after experiences with other airlines, I will NEVER take another one on the way back to the usa, or anywhere else if it is at all avoidable.
Their staff is excellent, the service is friendly, food is great, and there is plenty of leg room.
But, as friendly and modern as the airline is, you have to remember that there are still a plane full of line cutters and people with no manners, so you will get trampled if you’re not careful.
@Andrea – I’ve not flown from Jeddah to Damman but as an example a r/t ticket Riyadh-Jeddah-Jeddah-Riyadh on average is around 600 SAR (less than US$200).
Umm Sumayah, you remind me that I wrote waaayyyy back in one of my first posts about flying Saudi Airlines. It was when I first came to KSA and it was during Ramadan and the flight was terrific.
To make it easier for those interested, here’s the link to my earlier post when I first flew Saudi Airlines:
http://americanbedu.com/2007/10/18/departure-from-usa-to-ksa/
wow.. WAY bigger country than I realized. Darn these disproportional flat maps. I remember reading something about driving from riyadh and thinking, dang…HOW many hours? It’s just.. right there. Now it makes more sense. Still.. far more affordable than flying from NM to Oregon (about the same distance?).
The most common map is the mercator projection, which shows landmasses out of their real proportions: Northern and southern landmasses show up much larger in comparison to those at the equator, as they actually are.
It’s always a problem having to transcribe from a globe to a flat medium.
Bedu’s clustermap shows a more realistic interpretation, but she has way to many visitors to see it well!
Click the cluster map Aafke and you will get a detailed flat map the the blobs spread out:) Oh well it does not help with the land size issue, but at lease you can see all the locations Bedu’s readers come from. Very amazing diversity.
I really don’t enjoy flying into, or out of Saudi. I find the beige airports depressing, security chaotic, immigration staff slow and queues non-existent.
The most consistenly annoying thing is people not booking their seats next to eachother, or sitting in the wrong seats, wasting time as everyone changes around. You often see men being shunted from one seat to another because a Saudi woman refuses to sit next to them. Settling everyone down in the plane takes ages – and we’re talking about adults here, not a kindergarten group taking a minibus trip.
As you mention, people all jump up as soon as the wheels hit the tarmac and phones don’t get switched off.
Getting back into Dubai is always fun though – the rush to Duty Free to buy as much Johnny Walker is always fun to behold.
Yes, I love bedu´s clustermap, and have installed it on my own blog (where you can see the map much better!!!)
It is amazing everybody on the planet (except Siberia, but the don´t have internet) visit´s Bedu´s blog!
For the nerds: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection#Retroazimuthal
Aafke,
At least I special on your map. I can see a single red dot in the middle of Texas. In Bedu’s blog I am just a no body
No, that´s you and Lofter!
I always find Riyadh airport quite a relief after others! Recently I travelled to Algeria and the flight and arrival was very smooth but the wait at immigration seemed never ending and then bags were delayed despite the brand new airport in Algiers.
Everything is surprisingly quick in Riyadh, the check-in queues are quite short, when hubby is going away on business he can usually check in in advance, as a woman with kids I normally find a new kiosk at immigration opened for me for the passport checks
. Never had any trouble at all flying in or out of Riyadh. (Alhamdu Lillah 
)
As for people leaping up almost as soon as the plane has landed, I find that happens on most flights.
Nice way to lift up my spirit. I am back to nobody again
When I saw the children playing on emergency exit doors I decided Saudi Airlines was not a airline I was going to rush to. We only use them in the Kingdom now but nothing else.
The security gals are a joke and I end up yelling at them half the time and the other half I’m explaining my nationality and and my kids. Strollers w/ car seats confuse them. They smack gum in my ear all the time and simply frustrate me.
And we are always one of those families spread all over the plane and we have to switch seats latter. Because they have yet to understand my newborn can’t sit in the back isle all by himself. Common sense doesn’t exist.
Jeddah airport nees a wrecking ball taken to it And Dammam airport needs to be airlifted to jeddah to replace it. I’ll never understand the need for such a massive airport in Dammam when so many simply fly through bahrain instead.
I’m no fan of Saudi Airlines even if there food is decent it doesn’t make up for all the other stuff I have to put up with.
So, basically, you enjoy flying in KSA because you get to fly first class, carry on liquid goodies and are served tasty food with real silverware? All that is worth traveling with discourteous people who don’t respect other people (pushing shoving and line jumping) and who think they are above rules (standing up and opening overheads during landings)? Seriously? I personally can’t imagine myself making it out of there without punching someone out.
Have you flown Emirates or Etihad? Now those are good service, even amongst Economy class.
I flew Saudi twice, and both times I hated it. The staff were rude and arrogant and the flights were full of turbulence.
Metal cutlery is making a comeback I think. Etihad Airways also provides it for in-flight meals.
Great comments, all and very interesting.
Okay Lynn….let me respond to yours first… I was happy I could fly first class from WDC to Riyadh since Saudi Airlines was the airline my husband’s employer utilizes. Having the more spacious seats make a big difference on the looong flight.
But within the Kingdom, one does not have much choice about which carrier to fly, although Saudi recent outsourced routes to smaller airports to Sama and Nas but otherwise to the major cities you fly Saudi. So I think it’s important to look at what is positive about the situation such as unlike in the US, being able to carry homemade foods from my mother-in-law in my handcarry (can’t do that in the States anymore) and all flights do serve a meal or a snack which is decent (can’t say that easily about the States anymore either). So those are advantages that if one hasn’t flown Saudi, one will not know are there.
Mezba – Emirates and Etihad are among my favorites!
Moo – yes; a few times my husband and I were assigned seats which were not side by side but fortunately we were always able to get it worked out.
Nzingha – Thankfully I have not seen children playing with emergency exit doors! That would certainly give one pause for consideration.
Of the airports that I have been to thus far within the Kingdom, Jeddah has been my least favorite for departing. Riyadh, Damman and Medinah are not bad at all. Medinah is pretty small but as long as the flight is on time, it’s okay.
@Everybody,
I am one of those who have tried more than 50 different airlines, and I can say with all confidence that Saudi Airlines is one of the best ones.
Yes, I don’t like to see people standing up before the aircraft stops, but then that’s not the fault of the airlines, it’s the fault of the passengers. We cant hold the airlines liable for that. I have never ever seen a crew member standing before the aircraft stops and the seat belt sign had been turned off.
One point I should stress on (also observed by John Paul Jones) is that a one way flight in Saudi Airlines DOES cost half the price!!!!!
About airports, the government has recently approved the new airport project in Jeddah which will cost around SR16 billion. So that should end our suffering in king Abdulaziz airport in Jeddah.
There’s a new project for the passport control, which has started very recently too. You apply for a special card at the airport, and when you get it, you can pass passport control without any contact with human beings. You just use this card and your fingerprints and you’re done! That should stop long queue at passports control. However, for the time being I think its available for Saudis only.
Passport control in Dammam airport is no fun at all. I was there more than once, and I had to wait on both times more than 30 minutes to get in. It was chaotic and messy. I was so upset that I wrote a letter to the airport administration about my observations. The airport administration claimed it’s the responsibility of the passports department, and when I wrote to the passports department, I was told that I should address the airport administration! Only then I had to write an article about it in one of the prominent newspapers here.
@Carol,
I am guessing that they ask you to remove your shoes/sandals because when you pass through the detector and it rings, they know that its not because of your shoes/sandals. Just a way to save time, I guess!.
Saudi Airlines is definitely the best airlines to fly, particularly as a Muslim as they cater to your needs when it comes to prayer, halal food (no pork/alcohol), and you gotta love the spacious seats in a fleet of relatively new planes alhamdulilah…
mezba you said:
haha… I don’t think they can control the turbulence part hehe
One more thing, Saudi Arabia is slightly more than one fifth the size of the USA, or one half the size of the European Union in its current body (27 countries). Saudi Arabia is the 14 largest country in the world.
@Nader – that’s a good point about removing the sandals…hadn’t thought of it in that way.
Another thing I forgot to mention is that Saudi Airlines also has excellent discounted rates for Saudi students traveling within the Kingdom.
When I was coming over to Saudi Arabia I ended up on a flight on royal jordanian airlines. It was wonderful. On my flight from Chicago to Amman I was served two meals and was given a choice of beef, chicken, or fish for the meals. The food was hot and delicious and it was a rather comfortable flight. My only complaint was that they didnt have tv’s in the back of the seats to watch movies on. However they did have them on the flight from Amman to Riyadh. I had some complaints but it was not Royal Jordanians fault. Thanks to US Airways who delayed my flight from Phoenix to Chicago by 3-4 hours my mother, me, and my siblings missed our connecting flight to Jordan. Now Royal Jordanian Airlines only has one flight per night to Jordan so that was a bit of a problem. Now US Airways refused to take responsibility for their actions and would not put us up in a hotel so we ended up stranded in Chicago Ohare for 22 hours till the next night when we were able to take the next flight to Jordan. So by the time we got on our flight to Jordan I had not slept for 3 days so when I took my little brother to use the restroom during the middle of our flight I must have looked like the living dead. So thats my dramatic story of moving to the middle east. ha ha ha lol…
Thanks for sharing David. Glad to hear overall you give Royal Jordanian a thumbs up. I think the US carriers are my least favorite of airlines anymore.
I have ALWAYS wondered about this – when flying on a Saudi airline, are men and women separated? Is it required for women to wear the abbaya on the flight since it is still a relatively public place? Just curious…
Thanks again, Carol, for your very interesting insight into Saudi life and culture.
No; when flying Saudi Airlines men and women are not separated. However in some cases concessions and seat changes will be made rather than have an unknown Saudi man sit next to an unknown Saudi woman.
When flying domestically women retain their abayas and for those who cover, their hijjab/niqab as well. But when flying internationally it is optional whether to remain covered.
Thanks for asking Nicolette and glad you enjoy!