JEDDAH: All eyes were on the twin pinpoints of light that silently materialized into a ghostly birdlike silhouette against the glaucous predawn sky over Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport at 4:15 yesterday morning. Minutes later, the first British Airways flight in four years touched down precisely on time amid a shattering roar and gleeful yet restrained expostulations of, “Yes, we’re back!” from BA ground staff watching the arrival.
As the three-class Boeing 767 taxied to a standstill, it was greeted with a water cannon and cheers from the ground-handling crew waiting to get to work and service the aircraft for the return trip to BA’s home base at Heathrow’s £4.3-billion Terminal 5.
Forty minutes later, the UK flagship carrier’s second flight to the Kingdom — a four-class Boeing 777 — touched down in Riyadh finally setting the seal on the establishment of a direct service to London from Jeddah and Riyadh five times a week. The timing of the re-opening of the direct Jeddah-London route has been the subject of much speculation among travelers from the Kingdom for some months.
Paolo De Renzis, British Airways’ area commercial manager for the Middle East, said that British Airways had never taken its eyes off Saudi Arabia during its absence from the Kingdom.
“After years of review and months of careful planning, we’re back where we belong — operating direct services to Saudi Arabia’s two principal aviation hubs,” he said. “We remain committed to offering our Saudi customers services befitting British Airways’ long-established global reputation for premium excellence and today represents the first realization of that promise.”
Following successful turnarounds at their Saudi destinations, the airline’s Riyadh flight departed for London at 7:45 a.m. with the three-class Boeing 767 Jeddah service taking off at 9:15 a.m.
The first British Airways customer to board the inaugural flight, Ahmed Al-Fadhil, a Saudi national studying in New York, said that BA was a fantastic airline, offering great services.
“The staff was extremely nice and very helpful at the departure counters. I am sure this will continue to be a very pleasant experience,” he said.
With the aviation market between Britain and Saudi Arabia recently being liberalized, De Renzis reiterated how British Airways once again believes its Kingdom services can be profitable.
“Saudi Arabia continues to be a vitally important market for British Airways and reinstating flights here further strengthens our regional commercial proposition; we’re now up to 66 weekly flights to Terminal 5 from eight regional destinations.”
A full timetable of British Airways’ Saudi — London services is available online at ba.com‚ where customers can book, pay and check-in online for their flights.
