JEDDAH, 5 May 2006 — The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) will unveil guidelines on Monday for private airline companies seeking to operate domestic flights, according to a statement issued by the Saudi Press Agency yesterday.
The issuance of licenses to domestic airline companies will be in accordance with the statutes and procedures approved by the GACA board of directors, the statement said.
The Supreme Economic Council has approved the issuance of licenses to private companies to operate domestic flights, the statement added. So far no company has been given any license.
A number of aviation companies have expressed interest in operating domestic flights. Sama is one of them.
Prince Bandar ibn Khaled Al-Faisal, chairman of Sama, said recently that paperwork related to the licensing procedure was proceeding well.
He said his airline could cover all routes in the Kingdom as well as those in the Gulf and North Africa.
Sama intends to operate Boeing 737-300 aircraft with an economy-class configuration in line with the prevailing trend seen in low-budget airlines.
National Air Services (NAS) is another company eying the Saudi domestic aviation market. NAS recently launched its Al-Khayala VIP service.
Khalil A. Kordi, its chairman, has said Al-Khayala would operate four scheduled flights per day between Riyadh and Jeddah from Saturday to Wednesday, along with charter flights on weekdays, weekends and official holidays to regional tourist destinations. Each round-trip will cost SR3,000.
