Riyadh: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced on Sunday, the establishment of a new national airline, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
The new carrier will be called “Riyadh Air” and it aims to improve connectivity between the Kingdom and the three continents in which it operates— Asia, Europe and Africa.
Riyadh Air also works to raise the competitiveness of national companies in accordance with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.
Riyadh Air will be based in the capital and will be supported by the Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Riyadh Air will be led by an elite group of local and international experts, and its board of directors will be chaired by the Governor of the Public Investment Fund, Yasser bin Othman Al-Rumayyan.
Former Etihad CEO Tony Douglas has been appointed CEO of Riyadh Air, who has more than 40 years of experience in the transport, aviation and logistics sectors.
To enrich the passengers’ experience, Riyadh Air aims to launch flights to more than 100 destinations around the world by 2030 and will provide exceptional levels of integrated services, mixed with authentic Saudi hospitality.
Riyadh Air is set to be a “global airline”, expected to add 20 billion dollars to non-oil GDP growth and create more than 200,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Riyadh Air and King Salman International Airport are among the latest investments of the Public Investment Fund in the aviation sector, which aim to raise the financial sustainability of the aviation sector system and enhance its global competitiveness in order to achieve the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.
