United Arab Emirates carrier Flydubai is preparing to become the first airline to operate international services to the new Red Sea airport in Saudi Arabia.
Flydubai is opening the route as part of a Saudi expansion which includes restoring services to Al Jouf.
Both destinations will be served twice-weekly from 18 April.
“This underscores our commitment to opening up underserved markets and further connecting the regions we operate to via Dubai’s aviation hub,” says Flydubai’s senior vice-president for commercial operations in the Gulf Co-operational Council, Sudhir Sreedharan.
Flydubai operates a fleet of Boeing 737s.
Red Sea international airport opened last year with initial flights conducted by Saudia. The airport is part of an ambitious resort development by Red Sea Global.
The developer says Flydubai’s international service will complement the domestic links of Saudia, and bring the number of weekly Red Sea flights to eight.
Red Sea Global group chief John Pagano says the airport will serve 1 million annual passengers at full capacity.
“Our inaugural flight just six months ago was the start of our journey towards reaching that goal,” he adds. “This first international flight is a further step in making Saudi Arabia one of the top tourism destinations globally.”
Two luxury resort areas have opened in the vicinity of the new airport, and three more are scheduled to open this year.
“Arrival of international travelers represents an exciting next phase,” says Red Sea international airport chief commercial officer Michael White.
