Private jet market recovers in Saudi Arabia, as demand for luxury travel rises

Private jet market recovers in Saudi Arabia, as demand for luxury travel rises

A private jet operator in Saudi Arabia has said that it is witnessing booming demand for luxury travel from wealthy customers as privatized aviationrecovers from the COVID-19 slump.

Majid Alshammary, the VP of flight support and in-flight services at Sky Prime, a private jet company operating in the Kingdom, told Al Arabiya English it is witnessing a rise in bookings for private charter flights, saying that it has not only recovered from the fallout of COVID-19 – but is improving on its pre-pandemic figures.

“It is undeniable that since COVID-19 has struck the world, the private aviation industry has witnessed an operational decline along with other industries, especially the worldwide decline,” he said. “As main players in the industry in KSA, we were affected by a decline by almost 45 percent.”

“However, starting from February 2021, there was a noticeable recovery on demand post-COVID that reached pre-pandemic levels up-to-date, with the market being projected to grow to between 10 and 15 percent in the coming few months.”

Sky Prime is one of several private jet companies in the Kingdom, and charters aircrafts, including the Airbus A319, 320, 330 and 340-200, and various Gulfstream private jets including the G450 and G550. Clients are flown around