Our goal is to connect the world to Saudi Arabia: flynas CEO

Almohanna lauded Saudi government support, which he said had the most significant impact on helping Saudi air carriers overcome the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The company is operating currently at full capacity, and we have returned, thank God, to levels before the crisis, and we even exceeded them,” he said.

He said that the Kingdom’s civil aviation strategy is playing an important role in supporting and strengthening the position of Saudi national air carriers at the international level.

Almohanna explained that the strategic goal of flynas is to connect the world to the Kingdom to contribute to realizing the civil aviation strategic plan and achieving Saudi Vision 2030.

The civil aviation strategic plan aims to reach more than 330 million passengers annually and link Saudi Arabia with more than 250 destinations in the world by 2030. The Kingdom also aims to attract 100 million tourists annually.

“We have opened new destinations to enhance linking the Kingdom with international destinations, such as Ukraine, Albania, Austria, Russia, the Czech Republic, and Greece. We have also linked the city of AlUla with international airports, starting with Dubai, and we will keep expanding,” Almohanna added.

“We have complete confidence in the Saudi economy and in the strong and promising strategy of the government to support tourism and make Saudi Arabia a global logistics center. During the COVID-19 crisis, we received 10 new Airbus aircraft, which confirms our commitment, faith and trust in the Saudi economy, the Kingdom’s vision, and the sector’s strategy in Saudi Arabia,” he said.

Almohanna stressed the importance of collaboration among all national carriers to achieve the vision of the Saudi leadership, as stated by the civil aviation strategy. They should not crowd each other on the same destinations but rather search for new destinations to connect them with Saudi Arabia to accelerate achieving the goal of 250 destinations.

Almohanna valued government support that national air carriers received during the COVID-19 pandemic, in line with the International Air Transport Association’s directive urging countries to bail out airlines “because, without government support, airlines cannot survive.”

“We contacted the government and obtained rapid support in line with IATA’s advice, and a special fund was established to support the aviation sector by a royal decree,” he said.

“Actually, what the Saudi government did to address the pandemic was honorable. It has taken tough but firm measures, and we are now reaping the fruits of the positive results of those measures. The economy has returned to growth, and the aviation sector is back to pre-pandemic levels,” Al-Mohanna added.

flynas connects more than 70 domestic and international destinations through its fleet of more than 34 aircraft, and the Saudi national carrier has transported more than 55 million passengers since its establishment in 2007.