Flydubai stays mute on Saudi domestic licence

Low-cost carrier flydubai has welcomed moves by Saudi authorities to open up the domestic market to foreign airlines but has remained silent on whether it plans to bid for a licence.

“The announcement that Saudi Arabia is opening up domestic operations to international carriers is positive news for the region. Providing passengers with more flight options will also encourage them to travel more often, benefiting the aviation industry in the GCC,” a flydubai spokesperson told Arabian Business.

The Dubai-based low cost carrier announced last week it had increased its coverage to the kingdom to seven cities from February 1. However, it has remained silent on whether it will bid for a licence when the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) issues more details of plans to open up the domestic market to foreign carriers in April.

Despite rumours in the Saudi press, fellow Dubai carrier Emirates Airlines has already ruled itself out and said it “has no immediate plans to operate domestic services within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

The Arab world’s largest domestic market, Saudi is currently only operated by two carriers: state-owned Saudi Arabian Airlines and low-cost carrier National Air Services (Nasair).

On Wednesday, flydubai announced regular flights to the Kyrgyz Republic, its 50th route in less than three years of operation.