On June 3, 2024, China Southern Airlines' "Shenzhen-Riyadh" direct flight was officially opened. This is the first direct passenger route to Saudi Arabia opened by China Southern Airlines in Shenzhen. That afternoon, China Southern Airlines held a first flight farewell event at Shenzhen Airport.

Shenzhen to Riyadh route has two flights per week, scheduled to be carried out every Monday and Friday, with a flight time of about 9 hours and 30 minutes, and will be carried out by Airbus A330. The outbound flight number is CZ8085, which takes off from Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport at 18:00 Beijing time and arrives at Riyadh King Khalid International Airport at 22:30 local time; the return flight number is CZ8086, which takes off from Riyadh at 00:30 local time and lands in Shenzhen at 14:20 Beijing time. 

It is understood that the inaugural flight has more than 200 passengers, with a passenger load factor of over 80%, and the route passenger source is mainly business, labor and tourism. Riyadh is the capital of Saudi Arabia. The exchanges and cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia in the fields of economy, trade, culture, tourism and other fields are becoming increasingly close. China Southern Airlines has actively responded to the needs of personnel exchanges between the two countries and opened the Beijing Daxing-Riyadh route in April this year. The opening of the direct flight from Shenzhen to Riyadh will further facilitate the personnel exchanges between the two countries, and also build a new air bridge for enterprises in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to conduct business cooperation and investment negotiations in Saudi Arabia.

The reporter learned from China Southern Airlines that among the overseas sources of passengers going to Riyadh, passengers from Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia account for a relatively high proportion. At present, China Southern Airlines has opened 7 Southeast Asian routes from Shenzhen to Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and other places, which can meet the transit connection needs of passengers from the above countries.

In addition, the opening of the Shenzhen-Riyadh route also provides Hong Kong passengers with a more convenient direct flight option to Saudi Arabia. It is understood that there are currently no direct passenger routes from Hong Kong to Saudi Arabia, and Hong Kong passengers need to transfer to Saudi Arabia, which takes a long time. To facilitate Hong Kong passengers to fly to Shenzhen, China Southern Airlines has cooperated with China Travel Bus to launch air-ground combined transport discounts. Passengers who purchase China Southern Airlines tickets can enjoy a 30% discount on Shenzhen Airport Line cross-border buses at China Travel Bus ticket purchase points to meet the travel needs of Hong Kong passengers.Editor/Zhao E