There is making a splash, and then there is making a splash the Saudi way. For several months, the world’s aviation experts had been busy speculating on the imminent launch of a new Saudi national airline, Riyadh Air.
Questions such as “where would it be based?”, “how big would it be?”, and “would it really be able to challenge the likes of Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways for a major slice of the global market?” flooded news channels, social media feeds, and international newspapers worldwide.
When Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Prime Minister and Chairman of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), announced the establishment of Riyadh Air in March of this year — many now believe that the answer to all three questions is a resounding “yes.”
The new national carrier, which will be a PIF wholly owned company, will leverage Saudi Arabia’s strategic geographic location between the three continents of Asia, Africa, and Europe, enabling Riyadh to become a gateway to the world and a global destination for transportation, trade, and tourism.
Riyadh Air will be chaired by Yasir Al–Rumayyan, Governor of PIF, while Tony Douglas, who brings more than 40 years of experience in the aviation, transportation, and logistics industries, has been appointed as the airline’s CEO. The airline’s senior management will include Saudi and international expertise.
Operating from Riyadh as its hub, the airline will usher in a new era for the travel and aviation industry globally. Additionally, the airline will provide tourists from around the world with the opportunity to visit Saudi Arabia’s cultural and natural attractions.
Riyadh Air will be a world–class airline, adopting the global best sustainability and safety standards across its advanced fleet of aircraft, equipped with the latest cutting–edge technology.
The airline is expected to add $20bn to the Kingdom’s non–oil GDP growth and create more than 200,000 direct and indirect jobs.
As a wholly owned PIF subsidiary, the new national airline is set to benefit from PIF’s investment expertise and financial capabilities, while expanding on the company’s operations to become a leading national carrier.
The new national airline represents PIF’s latest investment in the sector, along with the recently announced King Salman International Airport masterplan.
Riyadh Air aims to enhance customers’ journey while connecting them to more than 100 destinations around the world by 2030.
Riyadh Air will also serve as a catalyst for the Saudi National Transport and Logistics Strategy and the National Tourism Strategy by increasing air transport options, raising cargo capacity, and, in turn, growing international passenger traffic.
The establishment of Riyadh Air is part of PIF’s strategy to unlock the capabilities of promising sectors that can help drive the diversification of the local economy.
Furthermore, it will enable a more financially resilient aviation ecosystem in Saudi Arabia, supporting the industry’s global competitiveness in line with Vision 2030.
The future is definitely starting to look bright for the region’s aviation industry, with The Boeing Company recently stating that carriers in the Middle East are set to expand their fleets with an additional 2,980 commercial jets in the next two decades.
The American multinational corporation added that the new planes will be required to meet the strong recovering demand for both passenger and cargo airplanes. That said, airlines in the Middle East are expected to spend around $765bn on additional jets — more than two–thirds of which will be new deliveries, while the remaining will replace older models.
The fleet forecast comes after Boeing predicted a 4 percent growth in passenger traffic annually — after the Covid–19 pandemic almost completely shut down the aviation business around the world.
If a brand–new airline isn’t enough, Saudi Arabia will also soon be home to one of the world’s largest airports — King Salman International Airport.
The airport project is in line with Saudi Arabia’s vision to transform Riyadh to be among the top ten city economies in the world. It also aims to support the growth of Riyadh’s population from 15 to 20 million people by 2030.
King Salman International Airport is expected to cover an area of approximately 57 sq km and will feature six parallel runways, with the existing terminals to be named after King Khalid.
The airport will also include 12 sq km of airport support facilities, residential and recreational facilities, retail outlets, and other logistics real estate.
By 2030, the airport aims to accommodate up to 120 million travellers. By 2050, it expects to accommodate 185 million travellers, with the capacity to process 3.5 million tons of cargo.
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