Saudi's Flynas celebrates Year of Arabic Calligraphy

The Saudi airline has decorated its 12th Airbus A320neo with the initiative’s logo.

The plane was part of an agreement signed with Airbus in 2017 to purchase 120 A320neo aircraft, with a total value of SR32 billion ($8.531 billion).

Bander Al-Mohanna, CEO of Flynas, said: “We are proud to be one of the participants in the ‘Year of Arabic Calligraphy’ initiative, and to cooperate with the Ministry of Culture in this pioneering initiative that aims to highlight Arabic calligraphy as a distinct art that embodies the richness and aesthetics of the Arabic language.”

He said by placing the logo of the “Year of Arabic Calligraphy” on one of the aircraft, the company aimed to educate passengers about “the beauty and importance of Arabic calligraphy and to consolidate pride in Arab identity.”

The ministry said the partnership with Flynas to decorate its aircraft also aims to “introduce the local and international community to the initiative that moves the art of Arabic calligraphy from being a source of knowledge to an aesthetic icon that represents the Saudi identity, and the depth of Arab culture.”

A part of the agreement, the aircraft will head to the historic city of AlUla in order to stimulate domestic tourism.

The initiative, supported by the Quality of Life Program, was launched by the ministry last year as part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and has been extended for an additional year due to its success.

The ministry has collaborated with several government and private agencies to support the initiative, the most prominent of which was the launch of Al-Khattat (The Calligrapher) platform — the first integrated electronic platform for teaching Arabic calligraphy.

The initiative also launched a campaign in cooperation with the Ministry of Sports to write the names of various athletes in Arabic calligraphy on their shirts during sporting competitions.

It also launched the “Year of Arabic Calligraphy” stamp on passports, in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior, represented by the General Directorate of Passports, and lit up Tuwaiq mountain with the logo in cooperation with Qiddiya Investment Company.

The Ministry of Culture said the initiative aims to highlight Arabic calligraphy as a stand-alone art form, spread the culture of its use among young people, support specialists and talented calligraphers.