Saudi Arabian budget carrier flynas has launched its inaugural flights to Abu Dhabi from Riyadh, thus marking the start of its new service connecting the UAE and Saudi capitals with a direct flight, five times a week.  

Abu Dhabi Airports on Wednesday (December 16) welcomed flynas’ inaugural flight which arrived from Riyadh at 12:35pm (local time) carrying  Bander Al Mohanna, the chief executive of NAS Holding and other key officials.

 Ahmad Al Haddabi, the chief operations officer of Abu Dhabi Airports, was at the airport along with senior executives from Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) to welcome the group.

Flynas will operate the new route using an Airbus A320 aircraft with the capacity to carry 164 guests in a two-class configuration – 156 in Economy and eight in Business Class.

The flights will operate on Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, departing Riyadh at 9:35am and arriving into Abu Dhabi International Airport at 12:35pm. On return flight takes off at 2:45pm to land in King Khalid International Airport at 3:45pm (local time).

Commenting on the launch, Al Haddabi said: "This new service further develops our airline portfolio while providing passengers with a world-class travel experience, whether they are travelling for business or leisure. It also successfully complements the collaborative efforts made by Abu Dhabi Airports and TCA Abu Dhabi to further strengthen Abu Dhabi’s position as one of the leading tourist destinations regionally and internationally."

Highlighting flynas’ plans to strategically expand its footprint in key markets across the region, Al Mohanna said: "Adding Abu Dhabi to our GCC route network is an important strategic step for flynas for multiple reasons, including our codeshare agreement with Etihad as well as the long-standing friendship and the strong bilateral business and economic ties shared by the two nations."

"Moreover, Abu Dhabi’s growing prominence as both a leading family-friendly tourism destination and a strategic business hub makes the opening of the new route a highly attractive proposition for Saudi travelers," he noted.

Sultan Al Dhaheri, the acting executive director, Tourism (TCA Abu Dhabi) said: "This new service makes Abu Dhabi even more accessible for Saudi Arabian travellers to enjoy the emirate’s wide array of attractions. In September we had welcomed 15,256 Saudis into the emirate, a highly impressive rise of 42 per cent on the same period in 2014."

"This new route will see even more visitors from Saudi Arabia making the short journey and consolidate its position as one of the top ten markets for inbound tourism into Abu Dhabi," he added.-TradeArabia News Service