FINANCIAL NEWS

Foreign airlines to run domestic flights in Saudi

26 Dec 2011

(MENAFN) Saudi General Authority for Civil Aviation said that it would give permission to local and foreign carriers to apply for licenses in order to fly domestic flights by the end of January, reported Gulf News.

The authority added that the advisory Shoura Council introduced a proposal in April allowing Gulf carriers to operate in Saudi Arabia, a country where only the state-owned Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) and private National Air Services run local flights.

On the other hand, it also said that Saudia and National Air Services serve a domestic market of around 27 million people; however, with a price cap on local flights, private carriers struggled with their profit margins.

It is worth noting that Saudi Arabian Airlines receives fuel at subsidized prices, which allow the company to resume serving the Saudi domestic market even with the ceiling on ticket costs.

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