RIYADH, 20 August — A bilateral air transport agreement to establish direct air link between the Kingdom and Austria has been signed by the two governments in Vienna.
The agreement is expected to go a long way in boosting trade and travel between the two countries. “There is a possibility for the Austrian Airlines to resume flights on the Saudi-Austrian sector from next summer,” said a spokesman of the Austrian Airlines, Bernhard Back, in an interview with Arab News.
The national carriers of the Kingdom and Austria—Saudi Arabian Airlines and Austrian Airlines—are currently working on the feasibility of operating flights on a reciprocal basis. Austrian Airlines, Back said, will soon decide terms and conditions including frequencies of flights on the Saudi-Austrian sector. The resumption of direct flights will benefit a growing number of Saudi businessmen and tourists for whom the United States is no longer a favorite destination. The Austrian embassy has been issuing nearly 3,500 visas to Saudi travelers annually.
The number of visa and requests for Schengen visas, valid for the whole Schengen area, is likely to increase substantially when direct flights resume. Currently, a Saudi passenger bound for an Austrian destination travels via Germany or a third country, losing time, money and facing hassles in the process.
Referring to the progressively growing economic relations between the two countries, Michael Landertshammer, director of the Institute for Economic Promotion at the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, said that the institute seeks to boost cooperation with the Kingdom in the training sector. This premier institute, which handles 33 percent of the total training and education contracts in Austria, has over 10,000 trainers on its rolls.
On the investment front also, the two countries have forged closer relations. Saudi and several Gulf nationals have invested millions of dollars in Austrian tourism sector. On the other hand, a number of Austrian companies have their direct or indirect presence in the Kingdom.
