29.11.2022 - 06:16 UTC
The Saudi General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) is in talks with the Royal Saudi Air Force to allow civilian traffic to transit through vast swatches of airspace currently restricted to military traffic, Arabian Gulf Business Insight has reported.
"There are multiple projects ongoing to redesign the air capacity and air corridors. We are trying to resolve restrictions as well as applying the latest technologies and radar information systems to shorten the trip time, open new corridors, and increase capacity. We will announce the outcome once it's completed," GACA Vice-President (Strategy and Business Intelligence) Mohammed Alkhuraisi said.
Riyadh is currently prioritising the airline industry as a strategic sector for the country as it looks to pivot away from its reliance on fossil fuels. As a part of the strategy, Saudi Arabia is developing a second flag carrier, RIA (Saudi Arabia), and is evaluating a third one to serve the future linear city of Neom. The country is also welcoming other strategic investments, attracting Wizz Air to set up a local unit. In addition,...
22.11.2022 - 10:00 UTC
Saudia Group signed a sale-and-leaseback deal with state-owned lessor AviLease covering twenty A320-200Ns due to deliver to the group's low-cost carrier, flyadeal (F3, Jeddah).
The parties did not disclose when the aircraft would deliver.
The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows that prior to this transaction, Saudia had twenty A321-200Ns and fifteen A321-200NY(XLR)s on firm order from Airbus for its mainline operations, and a further sixteen A320-200Ns earmarked for flyadeal. The LCC unit already operates fifteen A320-200Ns, of which fourteen are owned by the group, and one is leased from Avolon. The airline did not respond to ch-aviation's query about the identity of the 20 aircraft covered by the AviLease deal.
flyadeal also operates eleven A320-200s.
AviLease was incorporated in June 2022 by the Saudi sovereign Public Investment Fund. It added its first aircraft, also an A320-200N, in early November. HZ-NS54 (msn 11074) has been placed with flyadeal's direct competitor, flynas (XY, Riyadh), and is the first of 12 contracted by the carrier from...
17.11.2022 - 03:44 UTC
The launch of Saudi Arabia's new national carrier has been brought forward and is now scheduled to happen before the end of 2022, report Arabian Business and Gulf Insider.
RIA (Saudi Arabia) was earlier said to debut in 2024, but is now tipped to make its first flight in the upcoming months as the airline's development continues to progress, according to unnamed sources in-the-know.
The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) - which has its own lessor AviLease - is investing about USD30 billion to establish RIA as the driver of turning Riyadh into a major hub rivalling Dubai Int'l and Abu Dhabi Int'l in the UAE, and Doha Hamad Int'l in Qatar. The new flag carrier forms part of Saudi Arabia's USD100 billion investment in aviation in line with its "Vision 2023" strategy to diversify its economy away from oil.
Reports of the fast-tracked launch follow a recent Reuters report the airline plans to order up to forty new A350s with potentially as many options through sister carrier Saudia...
16.11.2022 - 15:57 UTC
MedSky Airways (MNS, Misurata) has taken its first in-house aircraft as it progresses with its certification drive in Libya.
A320-200 5A-MSB (msn 4357) was transferred from MedSky Airways' Maltese partner carrier Malta MedAir (MT, Malta Int'l). While the aircraft was registered in Malta as 9H-MSB, it never operated any revenue flights for Malta MedAir, having spent the entire summer in maintenance at Sofia airport. It was de-registered in Malta in late October and subsequently ferried to Mus under its new Libyan registration on November 5, 2022, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows. The 12.4-year-old aircraft, formerly operated by Saudia and Kuwait Airways, remains in storage at Misurata.
While the Libyan carrier is working through its certification process, its services between Misurata and Malta Int'l - the only scheduled air service connecting Libya and the European Union - remain operated by Malta MedAir with a chartered A320-200, 9H-MSA (msn 4349). The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows that Malta MedAir operates one more A320 on its own charter services.
