Saudia, the national flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, has won three awards at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2026, one of the world’s leading festivals for creativity and marketing communications, for its “Let It Fly” initiative and “The Coolest Ihram” innovation.
The achievement reflects Saudia’s success in using innovation to enhance the guest experience, celebrate Saudi culture, and serve pilgrims through creative ideas with tangible impact.
“Let It Fly” received a Silver award in Outdoor: Ambient & Experiential, and a Bronze award in Direct Sectors: Travel, Leisure, and Retail. “The Coolest Ihram” received a Bronze award in Corporate Purpose & Social Responsibility, recognizing its creative concept and impact in serving pilgrims.
Through “Let It Fly,” Saudia enables international guests to take more Saudi souvenirs with them by redeeming collectible stickers, inspired by Saudi cities and traditional crafts, for additional baggage allowance. Visitors to the Kingdom who purchase souvenirs from the “Saudia Store” or selected local retailers in Riyadh and Jeddah receive stickers that grant them additional complimentary baggage allowance of up to 1.5 kilograms, allowing them to carry a piece of Saudi culture to destinations around the world.
The initiative recorded more than 39,000 sticker redemptions for additional baggage allowance, with stickers travelling with guests to 22 countries worldwide. This reflects the reach of Saudi culture through an innovative travel experience.
“The Coolest Ihram” has also achieved wide impact since its launch. The innovation aims to provide greater comfort for pilgrims by integrating advanced cooling technology into the Ihram fabric, while maintaining full compliance with religious requirements. More than 14,000 Ihrams have been distributed, while the initiative generated media reach exceeding 237 million impressions and earned media value of SAR 8.2 million.
Essam Akhonbay, Vice President of Marketing at Saudia, said:
“These awards represent global recognition of Saudia’s efforts to enrich the guest experience and serve Hajj and Umrah pilgrims. We are proud that this achievement reflects our ability to turn creative ideas into experiences with tangible impact, in line with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 and the Kingdom’s growing position on the global stage”.
This recognition reinforces Saudia’s presence at leading global creative platforms and reflects its continued success in developing initiatives and innovations that combine Saudi identity, guest experience enhancement, and practical solutions for serving Hajj and Umrah pilgrims, in line with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.
About Saudia:
Saudia (Saudia Airlines) is the national flag carrier of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Established in 1945, the company has grown to become one of the Middle East’s largest airlines.
Saudia has invested significantly in upgrading its aircraft and currently operates one of the youngest fleet with 151 aircraft. The airline serves an extensive global route network covering around 100 destinations across four continents, including all 26 domestic airports in Saudi Arabia.
A member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Arab Air Carriers Organization (AACO), Saudia has also been a member airline in SkyTeam, the second largest alliance, since 2012.
Saudia was recently named “Best Airline Staff Service” for 2025 by Skytrax and ranked 17th in the global airline rankings. In addition, Saudia ranked first globally for on-time performance (OTP) in May 2026, according to Cirium. Saudia recognized at the APEX World Class 2026 Awards, receiving the “World Class Airline” title for the fifth consecutive year and the “Best in Class: Service–Guest Experience” award for the second consecutive year.
