RIYADH, 28 July  — Two Italian aircraft, which stopped over here en route Tokyo on a goodwill flight, returned to Riyadh’s King Khaled International Airport yesterday because of technical problems 45 minutes after take-off. The mission, nicknamed Raid Rome-Tokyo Flight after a similar mission in 1920, was received on arrival at KKIA’s private terminal on Thursday night by several diplomats and officials.

“We are trying to locate the technical snag and after fixing it, the aircraft will resume flight probably on Saturday,” said Brig. Gen. Dominico Mazza, defense attache at the Italian Embassy here.

Mazza hosted a reception in honor of the six crew members of the goodwill flights. The reception was attended by Second Secretary Massimiliano Mazzanti and Economic Affairs Attache Umberto Saccone.

The two aircraft are on a mission to recreate the Raid Rome-Tokyo Flight of 1920 which was organized to spread the message of goodwill and brotherhood after World War I. The historic flight was flagged off in Rome on Feb 14, 1920, and reached Tokyo on May 3 the same year after flying for 112 hours, covering a distance of more than 18,000 kilometers.

Mazza said he was extremely happy to receive the flights at a time when the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has announced its decision to set up a full-fledged flying club. He lauded efforts of Prince Sultan ibn Salman, secretary-general of the Supreme Council for Tourism, in this direction. He said the club would help boost further cooperation between the two countries in the field.

The goodwill flights, which landed here one day behind schedule, will stop at 16 airports in different countries including Saudi Arabia, Greece, Cyprus, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, India, China and Vietnam before finally arriving in Japan.

Mazza thanked Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Minister of Foreign Affairs, for giving landing permission to the aircraft. He said what makes the flight unique was that the pilots were flying the four-seater aircraft on such a long distance. The SIAI 205-20/R aircraft, weighing 754 kg, can fly a maximum 280 kilometers per hour and its cruising speed is 255 kph. The aircraft have been hit by bad weather conditions, air pockets and technical problems since takeoff from Rome.

“This rare mission has been undertaken by our group with a stopover in Riyadh to boost relations with a friendly country like Saudi Arabia,” Capt. Filippi told Arab News. He said each aircraft was manned by a team of three crew members. The crew includes six veteran pilots: Riccardo Filippi, Franco Maggiulli, Franco Pecorari, Paolo Zecchini, Antonello Flippone and Felice De Napoli.

Asked about problems they faced on their flight to Riyadh, Zecchini said, “It took more than seven hours to reach here from Amman. The weather was pleasant and we were flying at a speed of over 200 kph on a certain altitude.”

The flights were delayed because of problems in obtaining landing permission on the Cyprus-Amman leg, said Maggiulli.

Napoli said, “It was really a flight full of emotion, enterprise and a lot of enthusiasm.” He attributed this to the strong determination of the crew, who looked exhausted but in high spirits on arrival here. They were later taken to a local hotel.