Saudi Arabia licenses charter operator VistaJet as first foreign airline for domestic flights
The Dubai-based private airline group looks to capitalize on the kingdom's growing super-rich luxury travel market.
Saudi Arabian authorities have granted Dubai-based private airline operator VistaJet a license to fly domestically within the kingdom. VistaJet will also be the first foreign airline to operate domestic flights, the carrier said in a press release on Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said in a Wednesday statement that the move reflects the kingdom’s wider push to attract investment and contribute to the sector’s development.
“This step will foster greater competition, stimulate sector growth, and raise the quality of services for private aviation customers in the kingdom and across the region,” Awad Alsulami, GACA’s executive vice president for economic policies and logistics services, said in the statement.
Last year, GACA said it wanted to increase the private aviation sector’s contribution to gross domestic product to 7.8 billion Saudi riyals ($2.08 billion) and create 35,000 jobs by 2030.
