- RIYADH: The shortage of trained airline pilots in Saudi Arabia has prompted NAS Holdings, which operates Saudi Arabia’s first budget airline Nasair, to launch an ambitious Future Pilot Program to train 100 Saudi cadets as pilots in a staggered schedule.
An agreement has been signed by Nasair and the Ireland’s Pilot Training College (PTC) in this regard.
Sulaiman Al-Hamdan, CEO of NAS Holdings, said on Tuesday that “the quality of the training is absolutely essential to the continued success of Nasair and its growing reputation for excellence.”
“We chose PTC following a thorough assessment of their training facilities and standards and we were satisfied that the Irish company could deliver on what we require, highly skilled pilots,” he added.
He said that Nasair, which has plans to expand its fleet, was operating over 500 flights per week.
The budget airline, which operates to 30 domestic and international destinations, currently has a fleet of 14 modern aircraft, said Waleed Mohammed Al-Sheikh, NAS director of marketing and communication.
This airline, Al-Shwikh said, has the youngest fleet in Saudi Arabia offering a new generation of Airbus A320’s and Embraer’s E190 aircraft.
The airline recently launched new flights to the Turkish cities of Istanbul, Antalya and Adana. Nasair will operate 11 scheduled weekly flights from Riyadh and Jeddah to Turkey, bringing its international destinations to 21.
