Riyadh: The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has granted Riyadh Air the Scheduled Passenger Air Transport Economic License (GACAR-121S), as GACA aims to prepare Riyadh Air for commercial activities as the second air carrier in the Kingdom.

GACA also aims to enable companies to complete all technical procedures related to aviation safety and environmental sustainability and obtain the Air Operator Certificate (AOC), as part of its role as regulator of the air transport industry in the Kingdom.

The license was given during Riyadh Air's presentation of its plane livery. Attending the ceremony were Minister of Transport and Logistic Services Eng. Saleh Al-Jasser, GACA head Abdulaziz Al-Duailej, CEO of Riyadh Air Tony Douglas, and representatives of several national companies and air carriers in the Kingdom.

Obtaining the license is testimony to the achievements of the Saudi Aviation Strategy in the past and current year; for example, Riyadh Air had purchase orders for more than 120 aircraft in March 2023, the master plan for King Salman International Airport, announced in November, will enable it to serve more than 120 million passengers by 2030, and the Integrated Logistics Bonded Zone (ILBZ) was launched in October to support the significant growth in air cargo operations.

The Kingdom recorded the two busiest air routes in the world between January and April 2023, at a rate of 95%, due to the huge increase in global passenger traffic.

Saudi Arabia's National Aviation Strategy aims to make the aviation sector in the Kingdom the first in the Middle East region and to realize Saudi Vision 2030 by increasing air connectivity to 250 destinations. It also aims to transport 330 million passengers and double its air cargo capacity to 4.5 million tons by 2030.