Route News for October 5, 2026: Riyadh Air Sets Jakarta Launch, Wizz Air Pushes Abu Dhabi Return to January

October 5, 2026

It was a quiet 24 hours for route planners, and nothing confirmed today touches a U.S. airport. The biggest items come from the Middle East: Riyadh Air put a start date on its first Indonesia service, while Wizz Air pushed its return to Abu Dhabi from late October to January and paused its new Budapest–Amman flights after an updated European security advisory. Elsewhere, Air Cairo is adding a Saudi route and Drukair has scheduled a rare one-off flight to Australia.

New Routes

Riyadh Air: Riyadh (RUH) → Jakarta (CGK)

• Start date: November 16, 2026
• Frequency: 3 times weekly
• Aircraft: Boeing 787-9

Saudi Arabia’s new flag carrier has loaded its first Indonesia route, operating as RX869/RX870. Published departure and arrival times differ between AeroRoutes and Executive Traveller, so check the airline’s booking engine for the current timings. Executive Traveller also reports that Singapore is expected to join the network in 2027.

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Air Cairo: Cairo (CAI) → Taif (TIF)

• Start date: November 19, 2026
• Frequency: 4 times weekly
• Aircraft: Airbus A320

Aviation Week’s routes desk lists the new Saudi link in today’s update. Air Cairo will be up against EgyptAir, Nile Air and Air Arabia Egypt on the city pair.

Drukair: Paro (PBH) → Singapore (SIN) → Perth (PER)

• Start date: October 21, 2026 (flight KB960); the return, KB961, leaves Perth on October 23, 2026
• Frequency: One-time round trip, not a regular service
• Aircraft: Airbus A319

Bhutan’s national airline has scheduled a single round trip to Western Australia via Singapore. It is a one-off rather than a new scheduled route, but a Drukair A319 in Perth is unusual enough to flag for spotters.

Wizz Air: six Abu Dhabi (AUH) routes, launch delayed

• Routes: Krakow (KRK), Katowice (KTW), Sofia (SOF), Cluj-Napoca (CLJ), Larnaca (LCA) and Budapest (BUD) → Abu Dhabi (AUH)
• Start date: January 10, 2027 (previously October 25–27, 2026)
• Frequency: TBA
• Aircraft: Airbus A321neo

Wizz Air’s return to Abu Dhabi has slipped by about eleven weeks. The carrier points to the latest EASA security guidance and the continued closure of Iraqi airspace, which forces longer routings and fuel stops for the A321neo. With fuel prices where they are, the airline called the flights “commercially unviable under present conditions,” according to Gulf News.

Also noted: Riyadh Air is adding frequencies on an existing route. Riyadh (RUH) → London Heathrow (LHR) goes from 7 to 9 weekly flights on November 2, 2026, with the extra Boeing 787-9 flights on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Routes Being Discontinued

No permanent route cancellations were announced in the past 24 hours. One temporary suspension qualifies.

Wizz Air: Budapest (BUD) → Amman (AMM), temporary suspension

• Last day of service: TBA
• Effective: Suspended until October 25, 2026

FlightGlobal reports that the Budapest–Amman route, which started less than a month ago, has been paused. The National and Gulf News describe the suspension more broadly as Wizz Air’s Jordan flights and do not list any other city pairs, so whether additional Amman routes are affected is TBA. Jordanian airspace was added to Europe’s list of areas to avoid in the same EASA update that delayed the Abu Dhabi launches.

Sources

• AeroRoutes, “Riyadh Air Schedules Jakarta Nov 2026 Launch”: https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/261004-rxnov26cgk
• Executive Traveller, “Riyadh Air adds Jakarta in November, eyes Singapore for 2027”: https://www.executivetraveller.com/news/riyadh-air-launches-flights-to-jakarta
• Aviation Week, “Routes & Networks Latest: Rolling Daily Updates (W/C October 5, 2026)”: https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/airports-networks/routes-networks-latest-rolling-daily-updates-wc-october-5-2026
• AeroRoutes, “Drukair One-Time Perth Flight in Oct 2026”: https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/261005-kboct26per
• AeroRoutes, “Riyadh Air Boosts London Flights From Nov 2026”: https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/261004-rxnw26lhr
• The National, “Wizz Air delays start of Abu Dhabi flights to January due to Europe’s security update”: https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/aviation/2026/10/05/wizz-air-delays-start-of-abu-dhabi-flights-to-january-due-to-europes-security-update/
• Gulf News, “Wizz Air Postpones Abu Dhabi Routes to January 2027 Amid Airspace Restrictions”: https://gulfnews.com/travel/wizz-air-delays-abu-dhabi-return-to-january-2027-amid-airspace-concerns-1.500698742
• FlightGlobal, “Wizz Air pushes back Abu Dhabi return as EASA updates security advice”: https://www.flightglobal.com/strategy/2026/10/wizz-air-pushes-back-abu-dhabi-return-as-easa-updates-security-advice/
• The National, “Middle East flights: Singapore Airlines and Scoot extend suspensions”: https://www.thenationalnews.com/travel/2026/10/05/uae-dubai-abu-dhabi-flights-status/