SaudiGulf Airlines achieves IOSA

THE newly launched domestic carrier SaudiGulf Airlines, which has received a positive response from the domestic traffic, has added yet another feather to its cap by achieving IATA’s Operational Safety Audit Certificate from Muhammad Al-Bakri, regional Vice President of IATA for Africa and the Middle East.

Saudi Gulf is only second airline in the Kingdom that has received IOSA certificate. The certificate was received by Tariq A. Al-Qahtani, chairman of Qahtani Aviation and Saudi Gulf Airlinec at a formal ceremony held at its headquarters in Dammam on Thursday.

Talking to media persons, Al-Bakri said Saudi Arabia and IATA were intertwined in a strong and historical relationship. “We are extremely happy to welcome our second Saudi airline, SaudiGulf, to the IATA family and into the fold of IATA Operational safety Audit (IOSA) registered airlines. Passing IOSA, which is a pre-requisite for IATA membership, is a significant achievement for SaudiGulf which only started operating in late 2016,” he said.

The airline Chairman Tariq Al-Qahtani expressed appreciation of his board of directors to the executive management and staff of SaudiGulf Airlines, headed by Samer Majali and his deputy, Abdulmohsen Jonaid, for their momentous achievement in obtaining these two important certificates in a record time and for being the second Saudi national carrier to obtain these certifications.

The chairman also expressed his gratitude toward IATA and The Saudi General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) for their guidance and support.

On his part SaudiGulf CEO Samer Majali said, “The successful launch of the airline as a full service carrier has witnessed an elevated level of passengers’ satisfaction. And now, with the achievement of IOSA and IATA membership, SadiGulf Airlines will continue to enhance services and products to offer its travelers a unique experience to many of its destinations in addition to its recent launch of international operation to Dubai.”

He said the airline currently operates its fleet of brand new A320 Aircraft offering a total 24,000 seats weekly from their Dammam hub to Jeddah, Riyadh and Abha on domestic circuit and from Riyadh to Dubai. Majali said, SaudiGulf’s strategic plan calls for a gradual expansion of SaudiGulf’s domestic and international network from their Dammam hub with a plan to increase their fleet size to more than 30 aircrafts in near future.

Earlier, commenting on local and regional market and the air industry in general, Al-Bakri said over the next 20 years the number of air passengers traveling to, from and within Saudi Arabia is expected to increase at an average annual rate of over 4 percent annually. This represent an additional 72 million passenger journey per year in 20 years’ time compared with now.

Later Al-Bakri formally handed over the certificate to airline Chairman Tariq Al-Qahtani.