Three days of intensive dialogue, deal-making, and forward planning came to a close in Riyadh on Wednesday as Saudi Arabia concluded the fourth edition of the Future Aviation Forum, one of the world’s most significant gatherings for the global aviation industry.<\/p>\n
Held under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the forum brought together more than 11,000 aviation professionals, ministers, regulators, airline executives, manufacturers, and airport operators from across the globe from April 20 to 22.<\/p>\n
This year’s theme, “Unlocking Global Growth, Designing the Future Sky,” captured both the ambition and the challenge facing aviation in 2026. Organized by the General Authority of Civil Aviation, FAF 2026 covered the full spectrum of priorities shaping the industry’s next decade: fleet expansion, sustainable aviation fuels, air traffic modernization, workforce development, and the regulatory frameworks needed to govern the next generation of air travel.<\/p>\n
His Excellency Saleh Al-Jasser, Minister of Transport and Logistics Services, captured the Kingdom’s trajectory with clarity: “Saudi aviation is soaring to new heights, delivering connectivity and growth in support of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 agenda and the objectives of the National Transport and Logistics Strategy. The 2026 Future Aviation Forum will showcase the unprecedented investment, growth, and innovation opportunities being created across the Kingdom for global investors, suppliers, and operators.”<\/p>\n
GACA confirmed at the forum that Saudi Arabia has achieved a third consecutive year of record aviation growth. In 2025, the Kingdom carried 140.9 million passengers, a 9.6 percent increase over the previous year, and operated 980,000 flights, up 8.3 percent compared with 2024. These numbers place Saudi Arabia firmly among the fastest-growing aviation markets in the world and validate the scale of investment flowing into the sector under Vision 2030.<\/p>\n
His Excellency Abdulaziz Al-Duailej, President of GACA, reaffirmed the Kingdom’s commitment to global aviation leadership: “The Future Aviation Forum will once again unite global aviation leaders to solve aviation’s biggest challenges. Saudi Arabia is committed to providing global leadership on the world’s biggest aviation issues, including manufacturing supply chains, capacity constraints, and the development of human capital across the world.”<\/p>\n
Beyond the numbers, FAF 2026 delivered structural commitments. GACA confirmed that the 2028 and 2030 editions of the forum will be delivered in partnership with Richard Attias and Associates, majority-owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund. This announcement reflects the success of the previous three editions and the sustained demand from aviation leaders and sponsors for the event to remain anchored in Riyadh.<\/p>\n
The previous edition of FAF produced more than 100 agreements and 0 billion in deals. If this year’s forum follows a similar trajectory, the implications for global aviation investment, route development, and technology adoption will be felt well beyond the walls of the venue in Riyadh.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Three days of intensive dialogue, deal-making, and forward planning came to a close in Riyadh on Wednesday as Saudi Arabia concluded the fourth edition of the Future Aviation Forum, one of the world’s most significant gatherings for the global aviation industry. Held under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the forum brought together more than 11,000 aviation professionals, ministers, regulators, airline executives, manufacturers, and airport operators from across the globe from April 20 to 22. A Forum That Shapes Industry Direction This year’s theme, “Unlocking Global Growth, Designing the Future<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54937,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"Saudi Arabia Wraps Up Future","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Saudi Arabia concludes the Future Aviation Forum 2026 in Riyadh after three days bringing together 11,000 aviation leaders, with 140.9","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[224],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kingdom"],"yoast_head":"\n