Kuwait: Jazeera Airways held a virtual press conference today during which it outlined the latest developments in its operational activities over the past two weeks and responded to media questions regarding its plans to navigate the current challenges. The airline’s Chief Executive Officer highlighted the extraordinary efforts undertaken by its teams to ensure continued air connectivity and commended the strong support received from regulatory authorities particularly in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

At the outset of the conference the CEO emphasized that the airline’s top priority since the onset of the crisis has been the safety of all passengers. He said:“A broad segment of travelers has been affected nearly four million people in Kuwait including individuals visiting family students studying abroad and others. Since operations were suspended on February 28 our first objective was to ensure everyone’s safety. We evacuated the entire terminal and we had stranded passengers whom we took care of individually ensuring their safe return via Bahrain and onward overland through Saudi Arabia.”

Exceptional Support from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

On March 11 Jazeera Airways operated its first flight from Qaisumah Airport to Cairo carrying 145 passengers.

The CEO stressed that the operational achievements realized within such a short timeframe would not have been possible without the extensive support of regulatory authorities in both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia as well as the cooperation of countries that enabled Jazeera Airways flights departing from Saudi Arabia to be recognized as Kuwaiti flights. He expressed his deep appreciation to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

He added: “I would like to place on record our sincere gratitude to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We are truly fortunate for the tremendous support extended not only to Jazeera Airways but to Kuwait as a whole. This support has enabled us to continue serving our community without interruption. Saudi government entities have been proactively reaching out to ask how they can assist. This would not have been possible without the generosity and goodwill of the Saudi people. I would also like to extend special thanks to Mr. Ali Rajab Executive Vice President for Air Transport and International Cooperation at the General Authority of Civil Aviation for his continuous support around the clock.”

He explained that establishing operations of such scale and complexity referred to as Project Baraka reflects an exceptional level of cooperation.
“The scale of this operation is highly complex. It involves establishing connectivity in a sister country that has allowed an airline from another country to operate from its airports. Every flight departing from Saudi Arabia carries the Jazeera Airways J9 code and is treated as a Kuwaiti flight. This reflects the trust placed in us by Saudi authorities. This level of support is not uncommon from the Kingdom and without it we would not have reached where we are today. Thanks to this support we are now operating from two airports.”

Exceptional Efforts and Seamless Operational Transition

Addressing operational challenges and transitions the CEO underscored the efforts of Jazeera Airways’ teams stating:
“Our teams have delivered tremendous efforts working day by day to execute these operations. We began with Qaisumah which required intensive preparation leading up to our first flight on March 11. Given the limited capacity of Qaisumah Airport which can only accommodate a certain number of aircraft at a time and in response to growing demand we expanded our operations by launching additional flights from Dammam.”

He added:
“Our teams have demonstrated exceptional agility. We were able to establish operations at Hall 8 of the Kuwait International Fairgrounds within just 20 hours in line with security requirements. Currently 300 Jazeera Airways team members are based in Saudi Arabia working tirelessly to support operations and transport passengers from destinations including India Egypt Istanbul Sri Lanka Pakistan and Amman.”

He emphasized that Jazeera Airways’ primary initial focus is supporting people. “The current conditions have impacted trade and this is why we have also deployed our cargo operations to serve the trade of food, medical products and essential products coming into Kuwait,” he added.

Outlook and Continuity of Operations

On future plans the CEO noted that the airline is adopting a flexible approach in response to ongoing developments.
“We are planning our operations on a rolling basis of four to six weeks. We have scheduled flights and optimized capacity through April 30 covering more than 20 destinations over 1,000 flights and more than 200,000 seats. We are managing the situation day by day.”

He also extended appreciation to Kuwait’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation for prioritizing safety noting that the airline remains in continuous coordination with relevant authorities and ministries.

In this context the CEO also commended airlines across the Middle East stating “Airlines in the Middle East play a critical role in connecting the world and what they are doing under these exceptional circumstances deserves recognition. We stand alongside our peers in the region and highly value their efforts.”

In closing the CEO expressed his gratitude to all regulatory authorities emphasizing “Jazeera Airways would not have been able to execute such a complex operation without the dedication and commitment of our teams. They successfully launched operations in Qaisumah and in the past 24 hours have also successfully initiated operations from Dammam.”