Tourism & Hospitality | Thursday 25 August, 2016 5:34 am |

The Minister of Transport and Acting Chief of the General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) Sulaiman Bin Abdullah Al-Hamdan handed over on Wednesday the national air operator license for chartered flights to the CEO of Sky Prime Aviation Salem Abaid Al Muzaini, Saudi Press Agency said.

The handing over of the operating license to Sky Prime was done at a ceremony in Four Seasons Hotel here.

In a statement following the ceremony, Al-Hamdan said 2017 would be an important turning point in the air transport industry in the Kingdom, especially after the beginning of actual operation through the companies that obtained operating licenses.

SaudiGulf, Nesma and Sky Prime, which obtained their license during the last quarter of 2016, are expected to begin operations in 2017. Though Saudia established a low-cost carrier Flyadeal – one of the licensed national companies — the company’s operation is expected to begin in the last quarter of 2017. Saudia believes that entering the low-cost market will help it gain additional market share on its all-important domestic network.

Al-Hamdan said that granting these companies operation licenses would go a long way in solving the problem of scarcity of seats that most of the Kingdom’s regions and governorates have been suffering from for many years. He stressed that this will create a balance in the air transport market in the Kingdom. It will contribute to setting a positive impact on the level of prices and services provided to passengers.

He lauded the great efforts being exerted by GACA in this connection. Al-Hamdan said there are plans to monitor these companies and evaluate their performance on a continuous basis. The objective is to obtain the best results. He added that the private sector would be given an opportunity to provide its services.

Meanwhile, Assistant GACA Chief for Safety, Security and Air Transport Capt. Abdulkareem Muhammad Al-Badr stressed that chartered flights are of great importance in the Kingdom’s air transport industry, especially during seasons when the local transport market witnesses great pressure, like the Haj and Umrah seasons and vacations. During such periods, air carriers that operate regular flights cannot meet the increasing demand for flights.

Al-Badr said the demand for air travel is much higher than the supply provided by air carriers operating in the Kingdom, even during off season periods. He said this is one of the indicators confirming that the air transport market in the Kingdom is promising and can accommodate more air carriers and provides them with distinctive investment opportunities.

The CEO of Sky Prime disclosed that the company would use King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh as main stations for its operations. He said Sky Prime would launch its first flight before the end of 2016.

The Sky Prime fleet comprises a number of Airbus 600-340, 200-340, 300, 330, 320 and 319 aircraft and Gulf Stream G (450, 550), Legacy 500, and Venom 300.