King Khalid International Airport (OERK/RUH)
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Riyadh Airline Crew Layover Guide
Reviewed by Captain AL
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The RUH crew card
| Fastest into town | Riyadh Metro, Yellow Line: King Khalid International Airport Terminals 1 and 2 run through to the King Abdullah Financial District. A standard ticket is SAR 4 and stays valid for 2 hours |
|---|---|
| Night option | Trains run 06:00 to 00:00 Saturday to Thursday, 08:00 to 00:00 on Friday. Land late, or head back late, and the metro is already shut |
| Payments | Cash is fine, and so are credit cards: Visa and Mastercard, plus American Express. Retailers also use Apple Pay. The currency is the Saudi riyal, 100 halalas to the riyal |
| Tap water | No official verdict on the Riyadh tap could be read, so drink sealed bottled water. What GASTAT does report: bottled water is the main household drinking source at 47.3 percent, ahead of public network water at 36.5 percent |
| Emergency | 911 (In Riyadh you call 911. The rest of the Kingdom runs on 999) |
| Solo & at night | The Saudi Tourism Authority calls the metro, the buses, and the taxis safe for women, and says many of them run female-only services |
| Crew knows | Tickets are sold by time, not by trip. So the SAR 4 standard fare buys 2 hours, not a return, and the ride back is a second SAR 4: SAR 8 for the layover round trip, or SAR 20 if you sit first class at SAR 10 a run. The SAR 20 three-day pass works out at exactly five standard runs, and one layover needs two of them. Buy singles. The pass only pays on a longer stay. |
| Crew deals | Verified car rental and hotel rates for airline staff: on this page, right below this guide. |
airlinecrewdiscount.net · RUH crew card · Checked Aug 2026 · Next check Nov 2026 · Screenshot this card for offline
Every number on this page comes from an official source. Where no official source gives a number, we say so instead of guessing.
Getting from King Khalid International Airport to Riyadh City Centre on the Yellow Line metro, or by road with a ride-hailing app, taxi, or rental car
One fixed link between the airport and the city appears on the official pages we could read: the Yellow Line of the Riyadh Metro. Everything else is road. Ride-hailing apps, taxis, city buses, rental cars. None of the reachable sources puts a journey time or a road fare in writing, and the airport operator’s own site is blocked, so this section stays deliberately thin on numbers.
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| Mode | Time | Cost | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riyadh Metro, Yellow Line | standard ticket SAR 4 for 2 hours; first class SAR 10 for 2 hours | King Khalid International Airport Terminals 1 and 2 both sit on the Yellow Line, and it runs through to the King Abdullah Financial District. Behind that single line: six lines, 176 km, and 85 stations, with hubs at Qasr Al Hokm Downtown, King Abdullah Financial District, the Western Station, and STC Station. Trains run 06:00 to 00:00 Saturday to Thursday, 08:00 to 00:00 on Friday. How long the airport run itself takes, no official page we could read will say. | |
| Ride-hailing app (Uber, Careem, Bolt, Jeeny) | Uber and Careem run in the major cities, and so do Bolt and Jeeny, per the Saudi Tourism Authority. Book it, watch the driver come, pay by card or cash. What is missing is the useful part: no official fare band, and no airport pickup point, because neither the airport operator’s site nor the transport authority’s site would open for us. | ||
| Taxi | On payment a taxi behaves like the apps: book a ride, track the driver, and pay by card or cash. Meter tariff, rank location at the airport, surcharge on the airport run? We could not confirm any of that on an official source. | ||
| Riyadh Bus | The city buses belong to the King Abdulaziz Project for Riyadh Public Transport. Riyadh Municipality counts 6 train tracks, 84 train stations, 80 bus tracks, 2,860 bus stations, and 842 buses across the city, with the train and bus services integrated into one network carrying up to 1.7 million passengers per day in the initial operating phase. Which route serves the airport, and what the fare is, no official page would confirm. | ||
| Rental car | International and GCC driving licenses are accepted, says the Saudi Tourism Authority, and rentals are widely available at airports and in city centers. It rates Saudi roads well maintained, with bilingual signs. |
Best Areas for Crew Stays in Riyadh, from the King Abdullah Financial District at the city end of the airport metro line out to Diriyah on the far edge
King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD): City-side end of the airport metro line. A tight cluster of towers and offices, food in among them, and the simplest first look when the window is short.
Al Olaya: The central business and shopping spine runs past Kingdom Centre, dense enough to eat a few hours on foot.
Diriyah: Mud-brick heritage quarter out on the northwest edge of the city, and the calm counterweight to the tower districts.
Al Deerah, the historic center: Al Masmak Fortress and Souq Al Zal sit here, the old core for handicrafts and perfume, and for traditional shopping.
Hittin and Boulevard Riyadh City: Entertainment district built for the evening: restaurants and theatres, busiest well after dark.
What to Do on a Layover in Riyadh: does a five hour window get you past the terminal?
Under 5 hours: Stay in the terminal. Left luggage, terminal Wi-Fi, the airport to city journey time: we could not read an official page on any of it, so a short window leaves you no confirmed margin to gamble with.
5 to 9 hours: Take the Yellow Line into the King Abdullah Financial District, a standard 2-hour ticket each way. Plan the return leg around midnight, because that is where the service stops.
9 hours plus: A full day in town is realistic: the historic center, the museum quarter, and Diriyah out on the northwest edge. One trap on a morning plan, and it is Friday, when the metro does not start until 08:00.
Crew Tips for Riyadh and King Khalid International Airport: tickets sold by time rather than by trip, a later Friday metro start, and a police number that changes by province
Metro tickets: Standard fares run SAR 4 for 2 hours, SAR 20 for 3 days, SAR 40 for 7 days, and SAR 140 for 30 days. First class over the same periods is SAR 10, SAR 50, SAR 100, and SAR 350. The part that catches people out: tickets sell by time, not by trip, so those 2 hours cover a one-way run plus any transfer inside the window.
Metro hours, and the Friday start: Saturday to Thursday the metro runs 06:00 to 00:00. Friday it opens at 08:00 and still shuts at 00:00. Midnight is the hard stop every day of the week, and Friday quietly costs you the first two hours of the morning.
SIM and connectivity: SIM cards come from the mobile network provider stores and their authorized dealers. The main three: STC, Mobily, Zain. Free Wi-Fi is normal across most public areas, hotels and restaurants and coffee shops included. Whether the terminals themselves sell SIMs stayed unverifiable, because the airport operator site is blocked.
Dress code: Dress modestly and respectfully, is what the Saudi Tourism Authority tells foreign visitors: men in long pants and shirts with sleeves, women in long sleeves and full-length skirts or pants, nothing tight or revealing. Planning on a mosque? Women are advised to carry a shawl or scarf for the head.
Emergency numbers change by province: In Riyadh, in Makkah, and in the Eastern Province the police number is 911. Every other province uses 999. Saudi Ambulance is 997, the Fire Department is 998, traffic accidents are 993, medical consultation runs on 937, and the tourism call center answers on 930.
Working week: The Saudi working week runs Sunday through Thursday. A typical workday starts at 8 or 9 in the morning and ends around 4 or 5 in the afternoon. In Ramadan those hours may shrink, and businesses keep different opening hours.
Emergency Numbers for Riyadh and Saudi Arabia, where police answer on 911 in three provinces and on 999 everywhere else
👉 Swipe sideways if the numbers do not fit
| Police (Riyadh, Makkah, Eastern Province) | 911 |
| Police in all other provinces of Saudi Arabia | 999 |
| Saudi Ambulance | 997 |
| Fire Department | 998 |
| Traffic accidents | 993 |
| Emergency medical consultation (Ministry of Health, 24/7) | 937 |
| Tourism call center | 930 |
| International tourism call center | +966 920000890 |
| Saudi Arabia country code (calling from abroad) | +966 |
Save these before you fly; numbers work from any phone.
How do I get from King Khalid International Airport into Riyadh?
The Riyadh Metro Yellow Line connects Terminals 1 and 2 with the King Abdullah Financial District. A standard ticket is SAR 4 and covers 2 hours; first class is SAR 10. Trains run 06:00 to 00:00 Saturday to Thursday, and 08:00 to 00:00 on Friday. Outside those hours you are on the road: a ride-hailing app (Uber, Careem, Bolt, Jeeny), a taxi, or a rental car. Journey time and taxi fare are the two things no official source we could read will publish.
How much does the Riyadh Metro cost?
Standard tickets go SAR 4 for 2 hours, SAR 20 for 3 days, SAR 40 for 7 days, and SAR 140 for 30 days. First class goes SAR 10 for 2 hours, SAR 50 for 3 days, SAR 100 for 7 days, and SAR 350 for 30 days. Tickets sell by time, not by trip.
What time does the Riyadh Metro run?
06:00 to 00:00 Saturday to Thursday. Friday it opens later, at 08:00, and still stops at 00:00. Midnight is the last service, every day of the week.
What is the emergency number in Riyadh?
In Riyadh it is 911 for police, and that holds in Makkah and the Eastern Province too. The rest of Saudi Arabia uses 999. Saudi Ambulance is 997, the Fire Department is 998, traffic accidents are 993, and the Ministry of Health takes medical consultation on 937 around the clock. Tourism call center: 930, or +966 920000890 from abroad. Country code +966.
Can you drink the tap water in Riyadh?
No official verdict could be read, because the National Water Company and the Saudi Water Authority pages were both unreachable. GASTAT puts 99.8 percent of Saudi households on safely managed drinking water services, and in the same breath reports bottled water as the main household drinking source at 47.3 percent against 36.5 percent from the public network. Bottled stays the working default until an authority statement is verified.
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Crew Discounts in Riyadh: verified car rental and hotel rates for airline staff sit right below this guide. Bookmark it before you leave the terminal. Next Riyadh rotation, you start on the rates instead of a search box.
