Saudi Arabia’s national carrier Flynas has launched daily flights from Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport to Cairo International Airport Terminal 1 from June 1, as part of its expansion plans within Egypt.

 

With the launch, Flynas becomes the only foreign carrier serving seven destinations within the country, said a statement.

 

Bander Al Mohanna, deputy CEO of Nas Holding, said: “The launch of daily flights to Cairo is a key milestone given the strong demand for both inbound and outbound traffic between Egypt and Saudi Arabia. I would like to express our deepest appreciation and gratitude to the Ministry of Aviation, Ministry of Tourism, Civil Aviation Authority and Cairo International Airport for their tremendrous efforts and support in making this possible.”

 

The route joins Flynas’ existing Egyptian route network of Alexandria, Assiut, Sohag, Luxor, Sharm El Sheikh and Aswan. It currently operates 44 flights per week, which is expected to increase to 51 by the end of the year, said the statement.

 

The flights will be operated using an Airbus A330 (12 seats in business class, 24 in economy plus, and 291 in economy class) and A320 (8 seats in business and 156 in economy). Passengers in all classes will have generous hold luggage in addition to free onboard meals. 

 

“The two countries enjoy historically strong bilateral ties in the spheres of financial investment, education, tourism, the labour market and trade. Cairo provides unique opportunities for us as a regional airline and we have been keen to operate this route for quite some time,” said Al Mohanna.

 

Trade ties between the two countries have grown and it is estimated that current trade investments from Saudi Arabia to Egypt are at $5.4 billion and expected to increase to $6.2 billion.

 

Saudi Arabia is home to nearly two million Egyptians who live and work in the kingdom across a number of different sectors. In addition, more than one million Egyptians travel to Saudi Arabia annually on pilgrimages for Hajj and Umrah. - TradeArabia News Service