The skies over London Heathrow are about to get a little busier—and a lot more interesting—as two major developments from the East promise to reshape the landscape of long-haul travel between the United Kingdom, India, and the Middle East. With IndiGo ramping up its non-stop services to Manchester and Riyadh Air making a bold, if unconventional, debut at Heathrow, travelers are set to benefit from a surge of new options, even as the competitive and political dynamics of global aviation continue to evolve.
IndiGo, India’s largest airline, has been making headlines with its ambitious expansion into long-haul international markets. On July 1, 2025, the carrier launched its inaugural service between Mumbai and Manchester, marking its first foray into long-haul operations. The move, according to an official statement from IndiGo cited by Business Standard, was met with an enthusiastic response from passengers—so much so that the airline is now doubling down on its commitment to the UK market.
Building on this momentum, IndiGo recently announced the introduction of direct flights between Delhi and Manchester, set to commence on November 15, 2025. But that’s not all: the airline is also preparing to launch daily non-stop flights from Mumbai to London Heathrow beginning October 26, 2025. These routes will be operated with the airline’s state-of-the-art Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, promising enhanced comfort and efficiency for travelers making the long journey between India and the UK.
The numbers tell a compelling story. Starting November 15, 2025, the frequency of the Delhi-Manchester-Delhi service will increase from four to five flights per week. Just two days later, the Mumbai-Manchester-Mumbai route will see its frequency bumped up from three to four weekly flights. Altogether, these changes represent a 28% boost in non-stop capacity between India and Manchester—a significant leap that underscores both the demand for travel and IndiGo’s confidence in the market.
“This frequency addition will offer customers greater flexibility, improved connectivity, and more travel options,” IndiGo’s statement emphasized, highlighting the airline’s broader vision of connecting India to key global destinations with affordable fares and reliable operations. The UK-India corridor, after all, isn’t just about leisure travelers; it’s a vital link for businesspeople, students, and members of the ever-growing Indian diaspora in the UK. The surge in capacity is expected to make travel between the two countries more accessible than ever before.
But while IndiGo is making waves in the UK-India sector, another airline is quietly plotting its own course into the crowded skies above Heathrow. Enter Riyadh Air, Saudi Arabia’s ambitious new carrier, which is set to begin a rather unusual operation at the world’s busiest two-runway airport later this month. According to The Independent, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner named Jamila—painted in Riyadh Air’s livery but actually owned by Oman Air—will start arriving from Riyadh at 7:30 AM each morning.
This isn’t your typical commercial launch. Instead, Jamila has been leased to Riyadh Air as a “technical spare,” a move designed to help the fledgling airline protect its valuable Heathrow landing slots while it waits for the delivery of its own Boeing 787-9 aircraft later in 2025. For now, seats on these flights will be available only to employees of Riyadh Air and its parent, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), as part of a so-called “soft launch” intended to iron out operational kinks before opening up to the broader public.
Riyadh Air’s ambitions, however, extend far beyond this cautious debut. The airline, founded by the PIF, has already placed orders for 182 aircraft and plans to connect the Saudi capital to more than 100 destinations within five years. “We will be, for sure, a super-connector,” declared Tony Douglas, Riyadh Air’s chief executive, in comments reported by The Independent. “We aim to permanently transcend our guests’ perceptions and experiences of flying in the modern world.”
The stakes are high. Riyadh currently lacks direct links to major world cities such as Tokyo, Shanghai, and Sydney—a gap that Douglas is keen to fill. At present, only one in ten passengers arriving at Riyadh is connecting onward, compared to as many as nine out of ten at established Gulf hubs like Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi. The competition on the London-Riyadh route is also fierce, with British Airways, Saudia, and Virgin Atlantic collectively offering five daily flights each way.
Industry analyst Sean Moulton told The Independent, “Riyadh Air has clear ambitions to compete with Emirates and Qatar Airways in the Middle East. They want to grow and grow quickly, with further expansion likely in summer 2026. But Emirates are up to 13 daily flights between the London airports and Dubai, while Qatar are up to 11 daily serving Doha. It'll be difficult for Riyadh to compete with this on frequency alone.”
Still, Saudi Arabia’s government is betting big on tourism and global connectivity as it seeks to diversify the kingdom’s oil-dependent economy. Billions of dollars are being invested in new infrastructure, from the futuristic Neom project on the Red Sea coast to a host of attractions in Riyadh itself. The success of Riyadh Air is seen as a crucial part of this transformation, with the aim of turning the Saudi capital into a major aviation hub and a gateway for international travelers.
Of course, the airline’s emergence is not without controversy. Saudi Arabia’s legal and social frameworks, including laws against same-sex relations and restrictions on women’s rights, have drawn criticism from human rights groups and Western governments alike. The 2019 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights attributed to the Saudi state, remains a dark cloud over the country’s international image. As The Independent notes, travelers will have to weigh these realities as they decide whether to fly with Riyadh Air.
Meanwhile, the competitive landscape for long-haul travel from the UK is more dynamic than ever. With IndiGo’s rapid expansion providing more options for travelers between India and the UK, and Riyadh Air poised to join the ranks of the Middle East’s major “super-connector” airlines, passengers can expect increased flexibility, improved service, and—perhaps most importantly—a wider range of choices when planning their journeys. Whether these new routes will fundamentally reshape the way people travel between Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia remains to be seen. But for now, the race for the skies is well and truly on, and travelers stand to benefit from the latest chapter in aviation’s ongoing evolution.
