Travellers reach Saudi Arabia from 12 African airports on 16 catalogued routes, flown by EgyptAir, Saudia, Ethiopian Airlines, Emirates, Kenya Airways, Air Senegal, Qatar Airways, RwandAir. This corridor sits in the Hajj/Umrah pilgrim corridor. The tables below list every catalogued route, the carriers on it, and — where our cache has data — the lowest USD fare seen; all fares are quoted in USD, with on-the-ground spending in SAR.
Routes to Saudi Arabia
16 catalogued corridors reach Saudi Arabia from 12 African airports, flown by 8 carriers and totalling about 93 weekly departures, with block times from 2.5 h to 11.0 h. 11 of them run fewer than seven times a week, the line where a cancellation starts costing days rather than hours.
| Route | Carriers | Freq/wk | Block (h) | Market low (USD) | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairo (CAI) → Jeddah (JED) | MS, SV | ~21 | ~2.5 | — | guide |
| Addis Ababa (ADD) → Jeddah (JED) | ET, SV | ~21 | ~3.0 | $136 | guide |
| Lagos (LOS) → Jeddah (JED) | SV, ET, EK | ~7 | ~8.5 | $909 | guide |
| Lagos (LOS) → Medina (MED) | SV | ~3 | ~9.0 | $792 | guide |
| Nairobi (NBO) → Jeddah (JED) | KQ, SV, EK | ~7 | ~5.5 | $492 | guide |
| Abuja (ABV) → Jeddah (JED) | SV, ET | ~3 | ~7.0 | $724 | guide |
| Accra (ACC) → Jeddah (JED) | ET, EK | ~3 | ~8.0 | $896 | guide |
| Dakar (DSS) → Jeddah (JED) | SV, HC | ~3 | ~7.5 | — | guide |
| Johannesburg (JNB) → Jeddah (JED) | SV, EK, QR | ~7 | ~9.0 | — | guide |
| Johannesburg (JNB) → Medina (MED) | SV | ~3 | ~9.5 | — | guide |
| Nairobi (NBO) → Medina (MED) | SV | ~2 | ~6.0 | $270 | guide |
| Accra (ACC) → Medina (MED) | SV | ~2 | ~8.5 | $1,035 | guide |
| Durban (DUR) → Jeddah (JED) | SV | ~2 | ~11.0 | — | guide |
| Entebbe (EBB) → Jeddah (JED) | KQ, SV | ~3 | ~6.0 | — | guide |
| Dar es Salaam (DAR) → Jeddah (JED) | KQ, SV | ~3 | ~6.0 | — | guide |
| Kigali (KGL) → Jeddah (JED) | WB, SV | ~3 | ~6.5 | — | guide |
Airlines flying to Saudi Arabia
8 carriers fly the corridors into Saudi Arabia covered here; for the 8 we hold details on, checked-baggage baselines run from 23 kg to 46 kg, and 5 of them belong to a global alliance. Baselines are economy figures and depend on the fare family you buy.
Carriers operating the catalogued routes to Saudi Arabia, with alliance, baggage baseline and any diaspora or pilgrim baggage uplift:
| Airline | Alliance | Checked baggage | Diaspora uplift | Hajj/Umrah charter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EgyptAir (MS) | Star Alliance | 23 kg | +18 kg | Yes |
| Saudia (SV) | SkyTeam | 46 kg | +15 kg | Yes |
| Ethiopian Airlines (ET) | Star Alliance | 23 kg | +5 kg | Yes |
| Emirates (EK) | None | 30 kg | +10 kg | No |
| Kenya Airways (KQ) | SkyTeam | 23 kg | +5 kg | No |
| Air Senegal (HC) | None | 23 kg | — | No |
| Qatar Airways (QR) | Oneworld | 30 kg | +10 kg | Yes |
| RwandAir (WB) | None | 23 kg | — | No |
Diaspora and migrant-worker baggage uplift recorded against these carriers: Emirates +10 kg, Ethiopian Airlines +5 kg, Kenya Airways +5 kg, EgyptAir +18 kg, Qatar Airways +10 kg and Saudia +15 kg. Three exclusions normally apply to promotions of this kind: they attach to nominated corridors rather than the whole network, they are rarely honoured on another airline’s codeshare or interline segment, and the deepest-discount fare buckets are usually carved out. Confirm against your own booking class in writing.
Visa & entry — Saudi Arabia
Entry rule for Saudi Arabia (Umrah), by passport: Umrah visa — apply through the official Nusuk platform or a licensed Umrah agent. Fee Set by the Saudi authorities — confirm on Nusuk before paying; maximum stay Shown on the issued visa — confirm on Nusuk.
Entry rules by named nationality (verify against the official source before booking):
| Entry type | Fee | Max stay | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Umrah visa — apply through the official Nusuk platform or a licensed Umrah agent | Set by the Saudi authorities — confirm on Nusuk before paying | Shown on the issued visa — confirm on Nusuk | official |
| Tourist e-visa eligibility depends on nationality — check the official Saudi visa portal for your passport | Shown on the official portal for your nationality | Shown on the official portal for your nationality | official |
Hajj is a separate process run through your country’s national Hajj board (NAHCON, SAHUC, KAHCON, GHC) — not a tourist e-visa. A tourist visa is not valid for Hajj.
Read any entry rule against your own passport. The row above names the nationalities it covers; an ECOWAS, EAC, Maghreb or Horn passport not named there can face a different fee, a different processing route, or no eligibility at all for the same destination.
When to book
Book 3-5 months ahead. Treat that window as general guidance for travel into Saudi Arabia rather than a rule for a single pairing; on thin corridors seat availability binds before price does.
Book 3-5 months ahead. Fares move with the pilgrimage calendar and sell out far in advance around Hajj and the popular Umrah periods. See each per-route guide for month-by-month fare seasonality.
Booking windows are about competition for seats, not a hidden cheapest day. On a corridor with several daily rotations there is inventory left to release, and a late booking sometimes still finds a workable bucket; on a thin corridor into Saudi Arabia the cheap buckets are gone months out and no amount of searching brings them back. Check the frequency column before deciding how long to wait.
There are two different problems here and they have opposite answers. With flexible dates, scan a whole month — the seasonal spread in our own fare log is wider than any difference between one gate and another. With dates locked by a pilgrimage, a school term or a job start, searching is wasted effort and buying early is the only lever left.
Cached fares to Saudi Arabia
$136 is the lowest USD quote our cache holds on any corridor into Saudi Arabia — on ADD-JED — out of 8 priced corridors of the 16 catalogued. Each is one cached observation on its own corridor, in economy, not a low across the cache.
Lowest USD fares in our weekly Travelpayouts cache on routes to Saudi Arabia (market lows across all carriers, each a dated observation; check live prices before booking):
| Corridor | Market low (USD) | Cheapest month seen |
|---|---|---|
| ADD-JED | $136 | $136 in Aug 2026 |
| NBO-MED | $270 | $270 in Jul 2026 |
| NBO-JED | $492 | $298 in Nov 2026 |
| ABV-JED | $724 | $692 in Feb 2027 |
| LOS-MED | $792 | — |
| ACC-JED | $896 | — |
| LOS-JED | $909 | $529 in Aug 2026 |
| ACC-MED | $1,035 | — |
| Corridor | Readings | Cached range (USD) | Cheapest week |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACC-JED | 5 | $896–$1,023 | 2026-W29 |
| ACC-MED | 4 | $956–$1,035 | 2026-W27 |
| ADD-JED | 6 | $211–$335 | 2026-W20 |
| CAI-JED | 6 | $144–$196 | 2026-W25 |
| JNB-JED | 3 | $623–$837 | 2026-W29 |
| NBO-JED | 3 | $328–$594 | 2026-W23 |
Those rows come from our weekly fare log, which samples the cheapest published quote once a week across 161 corridors. Each reading is a single snapshot rather than an average of everything sold that week, so a one-week dip can be one small fare bucket. What the range does establish is a defensible floor: a live quote far above the top of the range on a Saudi Arabia corridor is worth a second search on flexible dates.
Departure airports for Saudi Arabia
12 African airports have a catalogued corridor to Saudi Arabia on this site, including Abuja (ABV), Accra (ACC), Addis Ababa (ADD), Cairo (CAI), Dar es Salaam (DAR), Dakar (DSS), Durban (DUR) and Entebbe (EBB) and 4 more, all listed below. Fares from every one of them are quoted in USD so the origins stay comparable.
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Abuja airport (ABV) — Nnamdi Azikiwe International, Nigeria: 5 catalogued departure corridors and 1 arrival corridor.
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Accra airport (ACC) — Kotoka International, Ghana: 11 catalogued departure corridors and 3 arrival corridors.
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Addis Ababa airport (ADD) — Bole International, Ethiopia: 13 catalogued departure corridors and 6 arrival corridors.
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Cairo airport (CAI) — Cairo International, Egypt: 12 catalogued departure corridors and 1 arrival corridor.
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Dar es Salaam airport (DAR) — Julius Nyerere International, Tanzania: 11 catalogued departure corridors and 2 arrival corridors.
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Dakar airport (DSS) — Blaise Diagne International, Senegal: 4 catalogued departure corridors and 2 arrival corridors.
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Durban airport (DUR) — King Shaka International, South Africa: 4 catalogued departure corridors and 0 arrival corridors.
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Entebbe airport (EBB) — Entebbe International, Uganda: 6 catalogued departure corridors and 2 arrival corridors.
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Johannesburg airport (JNB) — O.R. Tambo International, South Africa: 39 catalogued departure corridors and 6 arrival corridors.
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Kigali airport (KGL) — Kigali International, Rwanda: 8 catalogued departure corridors and 3 arrival corridors.
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Lagos airport (LOS) — Murtala Muhammed International, Nigeria: 19 catalogued departure corridors and 2 arrival corridors.
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Nairobi airport (NBO) — Jomo Kenyatta International, Kenya: 19 catalogued departure corridors and 6 arrival corridors.
FAQ
Do I need a visa for Saudi Arabia? Umrah visa — apply through the official Nusuk platform or a licensed Umrah agent
What currency is used in Saudi Arabia? Saudi Arabia uses SAR. Plan on-the-ground spending in SAR and compare airfares in USD.
How many routes go to Saudi Arabia from Africa? Our catalogue lists 16 routes to Saudi Arabia from 12 African airports — see the table above.
When are flights to Saudi Arabia cheapest? Book 3-5 months ahead. Fares move with the pilgrimage calendar and sell out far in advance around Hajj and the popular Umrah periods.
Which airlines fly to Saudi Arabia? Carriers on routes to Saudi Arabia include EgyptAir, Saudia, Ethiopian Airlines, Emirates, Kenya Airways, Air Senegal, Qatar Airways, RwandAir. See the per-route airlines in the table above.
How cheap are flights to Saudi Arabia? The lowest cached fare to Saudi Arabia in our weekly snapshot was about $136 on ADD-JED — a dated observation, not a current price. Fares move with season; the route guides show each fare with the date it was found.
Search live fares
16 catalogued corridors into Saudi Arabia means a live search will return several routings for the same dates; the lowest cached floor across them in our weekly snapshot was $136 — a dated observation, not a current price. Dates move the price more than any other variable. Fares across all 16 of those corridors are quoted in USD on this site so origins in different African markets stay comparable on one page.
Search flights to Saudi Arabia on Aviasales ->
Three checks make results comparable. Fix passenger count and cabin before comparing, because a per-passenger fare and a total look identical on a results page. Read the elapsed time next to the price — a one-stop routing into Saudi Arabia and a nonstop are different products. And check whether the fare includes the checked bag you will actually carry.
A month view beats a date view on Saudi Arabia corridors. The seasonal spread our fare log records between departure months is consistently larger than the spread between booking sites on the same day, which means calendar flexibility is worth more than shopping around. Locked dates invert the advice: buy sooner.