Gulf Air Launches First Flight to AlUla International Airport

The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) is targeting broadening air connectivity with various international and local destinations, and transforming AlUla into a global logistics hub in northwestern Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) is targeting broadening air connectivity with various international and local destinations, and transforming AlUla into a global logistics hub in northwestern Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
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Gulf Air Launches First Flight to AlUla International Airport

The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) is targeting broadening air connectivity with various international and local destinations, and transforming AlUla into a global logistics hub in northwestern Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) is targeting broadening air connectivity with various international and local destinations, and transforming AlUla into a global logistics hub in northwestern Saudi Arabia. (SPA)

Gulf Air, Bahrain’s national carrier, launched on Saturday its first-ever flight to AlUla International Airport, from where the company will operate direct Bahrain-AlUla flights twice a week, from February 3 to March 6, and from April 10 to April 27, on board Gulf Air A320neo aircraft.

The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) is targeting broadening air connectivity with various international and local destinations, and transforming AlUla into a global logistics hub in northwestern Saudi Arabia.

Vice President of Destination Marketing and Management Office at RCU Rami Almoallim said: “We are pleased to welcome new visitors on their journey to AlUla, which offers a cultural and tourism experience."

He added that the inclusion of AlUla among Gulf Air’s main seasonal destinations for the current year is proof of the attraction this historic site has for tourists.

“This also helps our endeavors to facilitate access to AlUla as a destination via direct international flights from neighboring international aviation hubs," he added.

Several projects were carried out at AlUla International Airport in recent years to improve its services. The airport joined the list of international airports in March 2021. The total area of the airport was expanded to nearly 2.4 million square meters, and the airport’s flight deck can accommodate up to 15 aircraft at a time.

Enhancing aviation operations and developing the infrastructure of the airport aligns with AlUla’s goals of receiving two million visitors annually by 2035, utilizing a pioneering model of practical and sustainable tourism strategy.

Saudi airlines expanded the scope of its flights to AlUla International Airport linking it with Europe by operating flights with Paris, and adding international destinations to it, from Dubai, Doha, and Cairo.



Iraq Oil Exports Down 8.5% to 95,148 Million Barrels

An Iraqi flag is seen in front of oilfields (Reuters)
An Iraqi flag is seen in front of oilfields (Reuters)
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Iraq Oil Exports Down 8.5% to 95,148 Million Barrels

An Iraqi flag is seen in front of oilfields (Reuters)
An Iraqi flag is seen in front of oilfields (Reuters)

Iraq exported 95,148 million barrels of oil in February 2025, down 8.5% compared to January exports, according to data released by the State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO).

The total quantities of crude oil exported during February from the oil fields in central and southern Iraq reached 94,375,012 barrels, SOMO said.

Iraq’s oil exports to Jordan reached 419,846 barrels, and the quantities exported from the Qayyarah field reached 353,309 barrels.

In January, Iraq said it exported 103 million barrels of oil.

Starting this month and until June 2026, Iraq must voluntarily cut its crude oil production by an average of 125,000 barrels per day, as part of efforts to compensate for exceeding an OPEC+ quota during the previous months.

The country is the second-largest crude oil producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) after Saudi Arabia. Iraq's economy heavily relies on crude oil exports, which account for about 90 percent of the country's revenues.

On Wednesday, BP said it has received final government approval for the redevelopment of Iraq's giant Kirkuk oil fields, with an initial plan to produce 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

The project is a breakthrough for Iraq, where output has been constrained by years of war, corruption and sectarian tensions, and a cornerstone of BP's drive to refocus on its oil and gas business and away from renewables.