Saudi Arabia Offers To Pay Airlines to Connect it to the World - Bloomberg
Saudi Arabia is offering to subsidize airlines that fly unprofitable routes linking it to major global cities, as part of efforts to boost tourist arrivals and hit a goal of attracting 100 million visitors a year by 2030.
The government is offering the subsidy as part of its Air Connectivity Program and is in talks with airlines about the plan that’s open to any carrier to receive support, Tourism Minister Ahmed Al Khateeb said in an interview. The kingdom has already signed a deal with national carrier Saudia to fly to Zurich and Barcelona as part of the program.
“The main purpose is to create direct flights to our main target markets,” the minister said in Jeddah. “The program will compensate airlines to cover their losses from flying direct flights to these very important hubs for us.”
Funding will come directly from the government, though it wasn’t immediately clear how much it would cost. “We have to negotiate with every carrier to size it,” Al Khateeb said, adding that details on the program’s budget should be available next year.
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