Mr Bellew has been with the airline, which is due to begin scheduled flights later this year, for almost three years and his current role was announced just over two years ago.
Earlier this year, Riyadh Air postponed its launch date to later in 2025 due to supply chain issues at Boeing. The carrier is aiming to make Riyadh a hub for traffic between Asia, Africa and Europe. By 2030 its target is to serve 100 destinations.
Riyadh Air, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, will be the second flag-carrier in the country, with the government already owning airline Saudia. Riyadh Air has billions of dollars’ worth of orders from Boeing and Airbus and is planning to have a fleet of up to 200 jets.
Getting a new widebody airline licence, launching an airline, and building a super team was fascinating
Last autumn, it placed an order for 60 Airbus A321 jets and it also has orders for Boeing Dreamliners.
Riyadh Air’s CEO is Tony Douglas, a former executive at Abu Dhabi’s Etihad.
Mr Bellew confirmed his departure from Riyadh Air. “It has been a great adventure with Riyadh Air for the last three years,” he said.
“Getting a new widebody airline licence, launching an airline, and building a super team was fascinating. Being welcomed by the wonderful Saudi people was the highlight.”
He said he is “optimistic for the future” and that the “journey is the reward”.
Mr Bellew, from Co Meath, was CEO of Malaysia Airlines before rejoining Ryanair in 2017 as chief operations officer.
He was hired by Michael O’Leary as Ryanair dealt with pilot unrest that ultimately resulted in company-wide union recognition. In 2019, Mr Bellew announced that he was leaving Ryanair and later said he would be joining EasyJet as its chief operating officer.
Ryanair tried to enforce a non-compete clause, taking a case against Mr Bellew in the High Court. But Mr Bellew won, with the High Court ruling a non-compete clause in his contract was not enforceable. Mr Bellew resigned from EasyJet in 2022.
Mr Douglas told Reuters last month that Riyadh Air would be interested in acquiring Boeing aircraft that Chinese carriers have opted not to take due to the trade war that erupted between the US and the rest of the world, should the opportunity arise..
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