Riyadh. A private terminal with its own road, and a car timed to the Sunday to Thursday week.
King Khalid International sits well north of Riyadh on a site the size of a small city, with its own general aviation terminal and a reserved approach road. Around it, the largest airport project in the world is being built. We plan the ground side around the working week and the building work, so the drive holds.
The airport
King Khalid International at a glance
- CodesRUH / OERKAbout 35 kilometres north of central Riyadh, on a site of roughly 225 square kilometres. Run by Riyadh Airports Company.
- RunwaysTwo parallel runways, each about 4,260 metresLong runways at around 2,000 feet of elevation. Any aircraft type operates here, including VIP airliners, so runway length is never the constraint on a Riyadh trip.
- TerminalsFive passenger terminals, plus a Royal TerminalTerminals 1 and 2 handle international traffic, 3 and 4 domestic, and Terminal 5 stands apart from the rest. The Royal Terminal serves the state and its guests and is not a commercial facility.
- General aviationA separate terminal to the north of the fieldPrivate arrivals use it rather than the passenger terminals, reached by its own access road. Saudia Private Aviation is the established handler, with other operators adding facilities.
The working week in Saudi Arabia runs Sunday to Thursday, with Friday and Saturday as the weekend. Nearly every scheduling mistake we see on a first Riyadh trip comes from that, not from the flying.
Journey times
From King Khalid International
| To | Quiet roads | Peak |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Riyadh and the financial district | 25 to 40 minutes | 40 to 60 minutes |
| Olaya and the central towers | 30 to 45 minutes | 45 to 70 minutes |
| The Diplomatic Quarter | 35 to 50 minutes | 50 to 75 minutes |
| Central Riyadh and the old city | 40 to 55 minutes | 55 to 85 minutes |
| Southern Riyadh | 45 to 60 minutes | 1 hour to 1 hour 30 |
| Diriyah | 40 to 55 minutes | 55 to 85 minutes |
| Thumamah and the northern desert edge | 25 to 40 minutes | 35 to 55 minutes |
Realistic ranges, and wide on purpose: Riyadh is a fast city on an empty road and a slow one at five in the afternoon. Cars in Saudi Arabia are arranged through operators we know. Our own fleet and our own chauffeurs are in London and Manchester, and a trusted global network covers everywhere else.
Arriving privately
The general aviation terminal
Private arrivals at Riyadh do not use the passenger terminals. There is a dedicated general aviation terminal on the northern side of the field with its own reserved access road, and everything about an arrival here happens in that building: immigration, customs, the car. It is a considerable advantage over a commercial arrival at an airport of this size, where the walk alone is substantial.
Handling is arranged by the operator rather than by us. Saudia Private Aviation is the long established handler across the Kingdom and other international handling companies have been adding facilities in Riyadh as the market has opened. We do not claim a relationship with any of them; what we do is get the name of the handler and the terminal from the operator, and place the car accordingly.
Entry formalities are the part worth preparing. Saudi Arabia issues visas to most visitors in advance and the requirements differ by nationality and by purpose of travel. That is a matter for your own advisers, not for us, but it is worth settling weeks ahead rather than days, because a private arrival does not shorten an immigration process that has not been started.
What is changing
King Salman International
The existing airport is being absorbed into a far larger project. King Salman International Airport is planned across roughly 57 square kilometres, designed to handle up to 100 million passengers a year by 2030, and it includes a dedicated area for private aviation. Construction of a third runway began in January 2026 and terminal work is under way; the current operational capacity of around 65 aircraft movements an hour is expected to rise substantially once the new runway is in use.
For a traveller in the next couple of years, the practical effect is construction. Access roads move, temporary routes appear, and a drive time that held last season may not hold this one. We check the approach in the week of travel rather than assuming the route we used last time, which is ordinary practice at any airport in the middle of a building programme and essential at this one.
The other change is regulatory and it matters more than it sounds. In 2025 the Saudi civil aviation authority removed the cabotage restrictions that had prevented foreign charter operators from flying domestic sectors within the Kingdom, opening the domestic private market to international operators. In plain terms, a client flying in from Europe now has far more options for moving on to Jeddah, the Red Sea coast or the east, and those legs can be arranged with the inbound flight rather than separately. See private jet charter and London to Riyadh.
Planning it well
What we ask before a Riyadh arrival
Six things we settle early, so the ground plan holds.
- The handler and the terminal by name, from the operator, because private arrivals use a separate building with its own road
- The working week. Meetings run Sunday to Thursday and a Friday morning in Riyadh is quiet in a way visitors do not expect
- Prayer times, which close shops and pause meetings through the day and shape when a car is actually useful
- Whether the trip continues to Jeddah, the Red Sea coast or the Gulf, so the domestic legs are arranged with the inbound flight
- Passengers, luggage and whether separate vehicles are wanted for a delegation. See group travel and corporate chauffeur
- The current construction position at the airport, which we check in the week of travel rather than assuming
Onward
Around a Gulf trip
Request a quote
Tell us the arrival
Date and time, tail number or operator, the handler and terminal if you have them, passengers and luggage, and the address in Riyadh. Tell us if the trip continues within the Kingdom and we will plan the whole of it together. We come back with a clear price and an honest drive time. Nothing is booked or charged online.
Prefer to talk? +44 2030 048300 or WhatsApp, at any hour.
Questions people ask
About Riyadh
Are these your own cars?
Our own fleet and our own chauffeurs are in London and Manchester, and a trusted global network covers everywhere else. In Saudi Arabia cars are arranged through operators we know, and one person at Odyssey holds both ends of the journey.
Where does a private flight arrive?
At the general aviation terminal on the northern side of the airport, which has its own access road. It is not the passenger terminal and the car goes there, not to departures.
Can a large aircraft land at Riyadh?
Yes, any type. The two runways are each about 4,260 metres. Runway length is never the constraint here.
What is the working week?
Sunday to Thursday, with Friday and Saturday as the weekend. Plan meetings and car movements around that rather than around a European week.
Are private domestic legs inside the Kingdom possible?
Yes. Since 2025 foreign charter operators have been able to fly domestic sectors inside the Kingdom, so the onward legs can be arranged alongside the flight in. See private jet charter.
Can you arrange the aircraft as well?
Yes. See London to Riyadh and ultra long range jets.
