Skip to content

Flying from Jeddah to Riyadh?

Add a departure date and see which side gets the sun.

About this route

JeddahRiyadh

A short flight within Saudi Arabia. Your watch stays put on arrival.

Route type Domestic
Distance 852 km / 529 mi
Distance class Short-haul
Direction East-northeast
Est. duration About 1h 25m
Time change No change

This route crosses the Tropic of Cancer, the northernmost latitude where the sun passes directly overhead.

Departing from

JED

King Abdulaziz International Airport

Location Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Time zone GMT+3 · UTC+3
Current time

The bride of the Red Sea

Jeddah sits on the Red Sea coast, a commercial port city long serving as the main gateway for pilgrims heading to Mecca and Medina. King Abdulaziz International has its own Haramain High-Speed Rail station, with direct trains toward both holy cities, while trips into Jeddah itself still rely mostly on cars, taxis, and buses. Summers are extremely hot and humid given the coastal location, easing only slightly in winter. The city is built around wide roads, so most local trips are easiest by car or taxi.

Surrounding hubs

1,224 km / 761 mi
1,272 km / 790 mi
1,160 km / 721 mi

Arriving at

RUH

King Khalid International Airport

Location Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Time zone GMT+3 · UTC+3
Current time

The desert capital

Riyadh sits on a high desert plateau in central Saudi Arabia, a fast-modernizing capital of wide boulevards and an increasingly dense skyline. The Riyadh Metro's Yellow Line runs directly to all of King Khalid International's terminals, a fast and recent addition to what was, until 2024, a thoroughly car-dependent city. Summers are extremely hot and dry, regularly exceeding 45°C (113°F), with mild, pleasant winters. Outside the metro's reach, the city is still built primarily for cars, with wide highways connecting its sprawling districts.

Surrounding hubs

805 km / 500 mi
874 km / 543 mi
353 km / 219 mi
How it works

Find out which side of the plane to sit on.

Pick your airports, set your departure time, and you're done.

We calculate the sun's position based on your flight path and departure time, then tell you which side of the plane gets direct sun and which stays shaded. No guessing, just math.

01

Enter your flight

Pick your departure and arrival airports and set your departure time at the departure airport. FlightSide estimates the duration and you can adjust it if you know the exact schedule.

02

We track the sun along your route

Your flight path is broken into hundreds of points. At each one we check where the sun is and which side of the plane it faces.

03

You get a recommendation

Which side of the plane to sit on, left or right, depending on whether you'd rather avoid the sun or enjoy it. The percentages and the map are there if you want to see why.

Want to go deeper? Accuracy, edge cases, polar routes — see the FAQ →

Latest journal

Notes from the product.

Small updates, route observations, and clearer explanations for how the app keeps evolving.