Saudi aviation officials on Thursday hailed the opening of more than 80 new flights linking the Kingdom to other parts of the globe.
Following the introduction of 20 new Wizz Air routes from Bucharest, Budapest, Catania, Larnaca, Milan, Naples, Rome, Tirana, Varna, Venice, and Vienna to Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam, the General Authority of Civil Aviation released a statement.
The introduction of the latest routes would strengthen the Kingdom’s global connectivity and help encourage greater competition in the Saudi aviation sector, the GACA statement said.
In addition to supporting the Saudi aviation strategy and Vision 2030, which calls for the Kingdom to triple its annual passenger traffic to reach 330 million passengers per year to more than 250 destinations by 2030, the expansion of international airlines’ presence in the Saudi aviation market would also enable the country’s expanding tourism sector to flourish.
In order to establish a legislative framework that would support a competitive aviation environment in the nation, the authority recently announced that Saudi Arabia would reduce fees for airlines utilizing the Kingdom’s key airports by between 10% and 35%.
A $100 billion investment in the aviation sector will be made possible by the Saudi aviation policy, which includes a reduction in airport fees for Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam.
Ali Mohammed Rajab, the GACA’s vice president for economic policy and air transport, said: “At GACA, we welcome this latest announcement of new routes to Saudi Arabia, which provides a welcome boost to Saudi Arabia’s global connectivity, demonstrates the progress that is being made in delivering on the objectives of the Saudi aviation strategy and will create a more competitive and empowered aviation sector.
“We are committed to reducing costs in Saudi Arabia’s aviation sector to ensure long-term competitiveness and growth.
“Today marks yet another step in Saudi Arabia’s vision to create a leading aviation sector, with seamless experiences that exceed the expectations of businesses, investors, and passengers. Saudi Arabia is unleashing unprecedented aviation opportunities as the Kingdom connects to the world,” he added