Air India Express will start direct flights from Thiruvananthapuram to Riyadh and Bahrain from October 27, 2026. Bookings for both routes are already open.

The Thiruvananthapuram International Airport announced the expansion on Saturday. Flights to Riyadh will run three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The Bahrain service will operate twice a week, on Thursdays and Saturdays.

The Riyadh connection meets a long-standing demand for direct access to the Saudi capital, airport authorities said. Air India Express already runs a daily service to Dammam. The new route is expected to help expatriates from southern Kerala and neighbouring Tamil Nadu who live and work in Saudi Arabia.

On the Bahrain route, the airline will join Gulf Air, which already operates daily flights from Thiruvananthapuram. Passengers will get another carrier to compare on schedules and fares.

Thiruvananthapuram currently handles more than 250 weekly flights to and from Gulf cities including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Muscat and Dammam. The airport is operated by Adani Airport Holdings.