Saudi Arabia to grant first licence in airline liberalisation by end-March

Saudi Gulf Airlines is set to obtain regulatory approvals to launch flights within the kingdom by the end of March, a top official at Saudi Arabia’s aviation watchdog said Thursday. Should the licence be granted to the privately-owned airline, it would be the first to be awarded under plans to liberalise the kingdom’s aviation market. “We expect them to fly end of March, early April,” said Abdul Hakim Al Tamimi, assistant president for safety, security and air transport at the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA). Only national carrier Saudi Arabian Airlines and budget operator National Air Services currently serve a domestic market of about 27 million people. Foreign carriers can only fly in and out of Saudi Arabia and not within the country.<br/>