ALBAWABA — Saudi Arabia announced the creation of a new national airline on Sunday, part of its plan to turn its capital into a global aviation hub.
Saudi Arabia first disclosed plans in 2021 to create a new regionally based, international airline as part of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz's "Vision 2030" reform agenda, transforming the country into a regional business and tourism center.
Riyadh Air "aims to launch flights to more than 100 destinations around the world by 2030," the official Saudi Press Agency reported, adding that Tony Douglas, former head of Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, would be the airline’s chief executive officer.
The new airline would be chaired by Yasir bin Othman Al-Rumayyan, governor of the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia and would be wholly owned by PIF which is chaired by the crown prince.
The airline is expected to add $20 billion to non-oil gross domestic product growth and create more than 200,000 direct and indirect jobs.
The new airline is the latest in "a huge package of projects" that will "consolidate our country's position as an international hub for aviation and a global logistics center", Saudi Arabia’s Transport Minister Saleh Al-Jasser tweeted.
The kingdom is pursuing ambitious aviation goals, including more than tripling annual traffic to 330 million passengers by the end of the decade and moving up to five million tons of cargo each year.
In Sunday's announcement Riyadh Air said it would operate a "fleet of advanced aircraft" but did not specify the fleet's size or from where it would be sourced.
Meanwhile, Riyadh Air’s website said it was looking for pilots for new Boeing 787 Dreamliners, with the Wall Street Journal reporting on Saturday that PIF was close to a deal with Boeing for an aircraft order valued at $35 billion.
