Saudi Arabian Airlines has said instead of canceling flights, it has increased its number of flights to 18 daily.

The flights are operating between the Egyptian cities of Cairo, Alexandria, Borg El-Arab and Sharm El-Sheikh to Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam and Madinah in the Kingdom, to name a few.

“We have decided to increase flights due to the situation there and to assist in evacuating Saudis and our other customers wishing to leave Egypt,” Abdullah Alajhar, spokesman for Saudi Arabian Airlines, told Arab News.

Alajhar said the carrier is working in cooperation with the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Cairo. It has also set up an emergency office at the Cairo airport to help evacuate Saudi students and other citizens stranded in the country.

The Saudi Embassy in Cairo declared an emergency on Saturday and urged Saudis in the city to leave, saying the situation is unstable and chaotic.

The embassy has urged Saudis to contact Tel: 3749-0775 or 3762-5000. Saudi students may contact the cultural attaché at Tel. 3336-0612.

“We have already operated 34 flights from Cairo to the Kingdom, amounting to 9,387 seats, (since the crisis began),” said Alajhar, adding that the airline is using its Boeing 747s, which have seating capacity of 450.

Hundreds of Saudi and Egyptian passengers have been stranded at airports in Cairo, Jeddah and Riyadh as a result of delays in flights between the two countries following anti-government demonstrations across Egypt.

About six million passengers travel between the two countries this time of the year due to school vacations, the source added.

About the partial burning and looting of Saudi Arabian Airlines office by anti-government protesters in Cairo  on Saturday, Alajhar said it was a minor incident and that Saudia was not the target.

“Protesters broke into and set fire to a bank next to our office,” he said.

“The fire spread to our office, allowing it to be robbed of computers and other equipment. However, there was no cash in the office at the time of the incident.”