Riyadh King Khalid (RUH): The Complete Layover Guide

How King Khalid Airport is laid out

Five terminals, renumbered in February 2026. Learn the new map: international at Terminals 1, 2, and 5, domestic at 3 and 4, and Terminal 5 standing apart from the rest.

Terminals 1 through 4 form one connected complex with walkable links between neighbors. Terminal 2 belongs to Saudia and the new Riyadh Air, Terminal 1 takes other international flying including the international flights of flynas and flyadeal, and Terminals 3 and 4 handle domestic. Terminal 5 is a separate building hosting the foreign carriers: Emirates, Turkish, Lufthansa, British Airways, Qatar, and others. A connection shuttle moves transfer passengers to and from Terminal 5; whether every international transfer stays airside is to be confirmed, so build in time for a possible security pass.

Transfers and the stopover play

Airside international transit needs no visa with a confirmed onward ticket. If you want to see Riyadh, Saudi Arabia offers a free 96 hour stopover visa issued with eligible Saudia and flynas tickets, and the standard tourist eVisa covers many nationalities for any airline. The old city, Diriyah, and Boulevard City are all reachable on a long stopover. Rules change and codeshares complicate eligibility, so verify before travel.

Lounges and sleeping

Six lounges are verified as of June 2026. Priority Pass opens four doors: Plaza Premium in Terminal 1, open 24 hours with a 2 hour stay cap, the Wellcome Lounge also in Terminal 1, the Hayyak Lounge in Terminal 3 between gates 304 and 306 with a 4 hour cap, and the naSmiles Lounge in Terminal 5 for domestic passengers. Riyadh Air's 2,000 square meter Hafawa Lounge between Terminals 1 and 2, opened October 2025, is reserved for its own premium passengers. Saudia's Alfursan lounges operate at RUH but their post reshuffle locations are to be confirmed. For sleep, the Wassan pod facility on the Terminal 5 departures floor rents hotel style beds with lockers around the clock, and Plaza Premium sells private sleep rooms. Free seating is the weak point: limited and mostly armrested. The full table lives in our RUH lounge directory.

Getting into Riyadh

The Riyadh Metro Yellow Line reached the airport in December 2024 with three stations covering Terminals 1 and 2, Terminals 3 and 4, and Terminal 5. A regular ticket costs 4 riyals and trains run 06:00 to midnight, roughly 30 to 35 minutes toward the financial district. Outside metro hours, taxis and ride hailing apps cover the 30 to 45 minute run to the center, typical fares to be confirmed. One more thing worth planning around: the bigger picture. The enormous King Salman International Airport project broke ground in 2025 and is slated to absorb Riyadh's traffic around the end of the decade, so expect construction and change here for years.

How I would play it

First, confirm your terminal on the airport's own site the day you fly, not the week before. Then plan lounges by building: Terminal 1 holds the strongest pair in Plaza Premium and Wellcome, Terminal 3 connections get Hayyak, and Terminal 5 travelers should treat the Wassan pods as the real amenity. Overnight, the pods beat anything in the open seating areas, and the Plaza Premium sleep rooms are the upgrade if you are in Terminal 1. With a free 96 hour stopover visa on an eligible Saudia or flynas ticket and a daytime window, Diriyah at sunset is worth leaving the building for. Just remember the metro stops at midnight while the airport does not, and treat every connection here as one notch tighter than it looks on paper.

RUH layover questions, answered

Which terminal does my airline use at Riyadh airport?

Check before you travel, because the allocation changed in February 2026. Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 handle international flights, with Saudia and Riyadh Air at Terminal 2. Terminals 3 and 4 are domestic, and Terminal 5 serves foreign international carriers such as Emirates, Turkish, Lufthansa, and Qatar. Guides written before 2026 are mostly wrong.

Do I need a visa for a layover at RUH?

Airside international transit with a confirmed onward ticket requires no visa. To leave the airport, Saudi Arabia offers a free 96 hour stopover visa issued with eligible Saudia and flynas tickets, and many nationalities can use the standard tourist eVisa instead. Rules change, verify before travel.

Can I sleep at Riyadh airport overnight?

Yes. The terminals operate around the clock, and the Wassan sleeping pod facility on the Terminal 5 departures floor offers hotel style beds and lockers at any hour. The Plaza Premium Lounge in Terminal 1 also has bookable sleep rooms. General terminal seating is limited and mostly fitted with armrests.

Which lounges can I use with Priority Pass at RUH?

The Plaza Premium Lounge in Terminal 1 with a 2 hour stay cap, the Wellcome Lounge in Terminal 1, the Hayyak Lounge in Terminal 3 between gates 304 and 306 with a 4 hour cap, and the naSmiles Lounge in Terminal 5 for domestic passengers. Pick by your departure terminal, the buildings are not all connected airside.

How do I get from RUH into Riyadh?

The Riyadh Metro Yellow Line serves the airport with three stations covering Terminals 1 and 2, Terminals 3 and 4, and Terminal 5. A regular ticket costs 4 riyals and trains run from 06:00 to midnight, so late night arrivals fall back on taxis and ride hailing apps, which reach the center in 30 to 45 minutes.

Is there a hotel inside Riyadh airport?

Not inside the terminals. The Riyadh Airport Marriott is the airport hotel, landside on the airport grounds about a 5 minute drive away. Inside the building, the Wassan sleep pods in Terminal 5 and the Plaza Premium sleep rooms in Terminal 1 cover shorter rests.