US-Bangla Airlines on Monday launched direct flights from Dhaka to Riyadh, expanding its international network to 14 destinations.
The inaugural flight departed Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 2:10pm with 423 passengers on board, heading to the Saudi capital.
According to a statement from the airline, five weekly flights will be operated on the route using its wide-body Airbus A330-300 aircraft, which has a capacity of 436 seats.
Flights from Dhaka will depart every Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday at 1:20pm, arriving in Riyadh at 5:10pm local time.
The return flights will leave Riyadh at 7:15pm and land in Dhaka at 4am the following day.
The airline said it aims to serve the growing number of Bangladeshi expatriates in Saudi Arabia, following the success of its existing service to Jeddah.
It also pledged to facilitate swift domestic connections for passengers arriving from the Middle East.
US-Bangla currently operates a fleet of 24 aircraft, including two Airbus A330-300s and nine Boeing 737-800s.
Alongside all domestic routes, it flies to Jeddah, Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Doha, Malé, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok, Guangzhou, Chennai, and Kolkata.