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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)
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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.

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US Applications for Jobless Claims Fall to 201,000, Lowest Level in Nearly a Year

A help wanted sign is displayed at a restaurant in Chicago, Ill., Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
A help wanted sign is displayed at a restaurant in Chicago, Ill., Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
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US Applications for Jobless Claims Fall to 201,000, Lowest Level in Nearly a Year

A help wanted sign is displayed at a restaurant in Chicago, Ill., Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
A help wanted sign is displayed at a restaurant in Chicago, Ill., Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

US applications for unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level in nearly a year last week, pointing to a still healthy labor market with historically low layoffs.

The Labor Department on Wednesday said that applications for jobless benefits fell to 201,000 for the week ending January 4, down from the previous week's 211,000. This week's figure is the lowest since February of last year.

The four-week average of claims, which evens out the week-to-week ups and downs, fell by 10,250 to 213,000.

The overall numbers receiving unemployment benefits for the week of December 28 rose to 1.87 million, an increase of 33,000 from the previous week, according to The AP.

The US job market has cooled from the red-hot stretch of 2021-2023 when the economy was rebounding from COVID-19 lockdowns.

Through November, employers added an average of 180,000 jobs a month in 2024, down from 251,000 in 2023, 377,000 in 2022 and a record 604,000 in 2021. Still, even the diminished job creation is solid and a sign of resilience in the face of high interest rates.

When the Labor Department releases hiring numbers for December on Friday, they’re expected to show that employers added 160,000 jobs last month.

On Tuesday, the government reported that US job openings rose unexpectedly in November, showing companies are still looking for workers even as the labor market has loosened. Openings rose to 8.1 million in November, the most since February and up from 7.8 million in October,

The weekly jobless claims numbers are a proxy for layoffs, and those have remained below pre-pandemic levels. The unemployment rate is at a modest 4.2%, though that is up from a half century low 3.4% reached in 2023.

To fight inflation that hit four-decade highs two and a half years ago, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rates 11 times in 2022 and 2023. Inflation came down — from 9.1% in mid-2022 to 2.7% in November, allowing the Fed to start cutting rates. But progress on inflation has stalled in recent months, and year-over-year consumer price increases are stuck above the Fed’s 2% target.

In December, the Fed cut its benchmark interest rate for the third time in 2024, but the central bank’s policymakers signaled that they’re likely to be more cautious about future rate cuts. They projected just two in 2025, down from the four they had envisioned in September.