Flight SV122, 11 November 2025
I flew from Heathrow to Riyadh on Saudia’s SV122 (or SAUDI AIRLINES) to attend TOURISE — Saudi’s new global summit for tourism, sustainability, and all things future-facing. A strong idea. Stronger ambition. Shame about the flight.
Let’s start there.
Three airlines, one undercooked option
Getting to Riyadh from London isn’t like flying to Dubai. Heathrow has around 9 direct flights a day to Dubai. Riyadh? Just 4 direct flights daily. You’ve got Saudia, British Airways, and Virgin Atlantic. That’s it. A fraction of the options. And you feel it.
I chose Saudia. Brave, I know. Flight SV122 on the 11th of November. Boarded an ageing Boeing 777 still rocking the old livery, even though the rebrand was launched years ago. I figured the inside might be better.
The crew? Friendly. I gave them chocolates. They smiled like I just handed them a promotion. But the comfort ended there.
No lid. No meal. No clue.
I went to the loo mid-flight and found something I didn’t expect. No toilet lid. Not on one. Not on two. Not on any. Just open-air flush mechanics at about 40,000 feet. If you’ve flown before, you know how loud those flushes are. Now imagine them uncapped.
Back to the seat. The plane was half-empty. A whole row to myself. A treat, but worrying. Gulf flights are rarely this quiet. Especially in November.
Meal service rolled around. My diabetic meal? Not loaded. I’ve flown long enough to know what that means. I lifted the foil on the regular tray. Burnt plastic. Beige pasta. A salad that looked older than the plane. Luckily, I packed a Boost bar. Ate that, took my meds, and slept.
Snack round? A scorching-hot aubergine and cheese pie. Tasted alright. Nearly lost a finger opening it.
Tried the Wi-Fi. Saudia wanted $50 for 200MB of slow-motion internet, or a free “messaging-only” option. I picked free. Two minutes later, it booted me off. Apparently I used my quota. What quota? I sent two messages.
It’s 2025. Not 2005. You can’t charge business travellers $50 for two WhatsApps and a GIF.
Riyadh arrival: 2am grace
Landed at 2am. Riyadh airport was calm. Refreshingly so. At arrivals, a TOURISE booth was up and running with actual staff. Even at that hour. I tested them — pretended I didn’t know about the event. They passed. Told me about the summit, offered shuttle details, even asked if I wanted to register. That was solid.
Still, late arrivals mean paying for a hotel night you don’t use. No getting around that. Took a cab and crashed.
Day two begins
I missed the first day. Not ideal. TOURISE was already buzzing by the time I got there.
The summit itself? Impressive. Big names. Big talks. Sharp activations. There’s potential here for Saudi to make this a proper Davos-for-tourism moment.
But the city around it isn’t quite ready. Riyadh traffic is still a headache. Infrastructure is playing catch-up with ambition. It all feels slightly out of sync.
Back to the airport: chaos and calm in the same breath
Leaving was another contrast. Terminal 4 entrances were shut. Everyone was redirected through Terminal 3, bags and all. No priority queue for assistance passengers. Just a single file of stressed people trying to find out where to go.
Security? Only two lanes open out of six. The queue dragged. Not ideal for a capital hosting international summits.
But then I walked to the new extension. Clean. Quiet. Beautiful design. It felt like a different airport. Modern. Ready. Strange how that feeling only kicked in after I’d passed the chaos.
So what’s the point of this post?
I’m not new to Saudi. I’ve been coming since 2005. I’ve seen it before tourism. I’ve seen it during the shift. I respect the vision. I admire the speed. But there’s still a gap between how things look on the brochure and how they feel on the ground.
You can’t sponsor a major tourism summit then fly guests in on ageing aircraft with no toilet lids and meal trays from a 1987 hospital drama.
You can’t talk about seamless experiences while making visitors drag suitcases between terminals at midday chaos on a Friday.
The event was well done. The Saudis booth was strong. The ambition is there. But you’ve got to sort the basics.
Or else it’s just great branding on top of a bumpy ride.
Moey writes here. 
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