Saudi Air Connections Take Off, Thanks To Government Subsidy Scheme

Saudi Air Connections Take Off, Thanks To Government Subsidy Scheme

Share to Linkedin A Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner leaving Malaga Costa del Sol airport, Spain on ... [+] August 21, 2022 (Photo: Fabrizio Gandolfo/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) A Saudi government scheme to support the country's aviation industry and draw in more tourists appears to be doing well, with at least 30 new international routes opened up since July. The Air Connectivity Program was launched earlier this year, backed by the powerful and wealthy state-owned Public Investment Fund. With the program's support, national airline Saudia has in recent months started direct flights from the country's second city of Jeddah on the Red Sea coast to Barcelona in Spain, Zurich in Switzerland, the South Korean capital Seoul and the Dutch capital Amsterdam. From September 1, it added flights to the Tunisian capital Tunis and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, also in collaboration with the Air Connectivity Program. Other airlines are also tapping into the scheme. Local low-cost airline Flynas signed a deal with the Air Connectivity Program in August to launch four routes from Jeddah to Marseille in France, Almaty in Kazakhstan, Algiers in Algeria and Casablanca in Morocco. The most recent addition to the scheme is Wizz Air Abu