Red Sea Int’l Airport in Saudi Launches 8 Weekly Flights

Group CEO of Red Sea Global John Pagano. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Group CEO of Red Sea Global John Pagano. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Red Sea Int’l Airport in Saudi Launches 8 Weekly Flights

Group CEO of Red Sea Global John Pagano. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Group CEO of Red Sea Global John Pagano. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Red Sea International Airport in Saudi Arabia’s western region, which opened last year, is now buzzing with eight weekly flights connecting Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dubai.

The airport is a key part of Saudi Arabia’s national transformation plan, “Vision 2030,” led by Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister.

It is meant to serve projects in the region developed by Red Sea Global (RSG).

RSG is one of the world’s most visionary developers, wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia.

The company is spearheading a new model of development, putting people and planet first and leveraging the most innovative concepts and technologies to deliver projects that actively enhance the well-being of customers, communities and environments.

Its portfolio includes two world-leading destinations announced by Crown Prince Mohammad, The Red Sea and Amaala.

Collectively, these responsible and regenerative tourism destinations will aim to enhance Saudi Arabia’s luxury tourism and sustainability offering, going above and beyond to not only protect the natural environment, but to enhance it for future generations to come.

A cornerstone of Vision 2030, RSG will help transform the nation, creating significant economic opportunities for the people of Saudi Arabia and actively enhancing the Kingdom’s rich environmental and cultural heritage.

By 2030, the airport is expected to serve a million passengers annually, with a peak capacity of 900 passengers per hour for both domestic and international flights.

Domestic flights started in September 2023, followed by international flights from Dubai International Airport on April 18, 2024.

John Pagano, Group CEO of RSG, disclosed to Asharq Al-Awsat at the sidelines of the “GREAT FUTURES” conference in Riyadh that the company has already opened three tourist resorts.

He revealed plans for two more resorts to open later this year.

Pagano explained that RSG has made significant investments and struck diverse deals.

According to the group CEO, around 17 billion riyals ($4.5 billion) in funding and partnerships for infrastructure projects worth 20 billion riyals ($5.3 billion) have been secured.



Bitcoin Drops to 11-day Low amid Tech Selloff

FILE PHOTO: Sparks strike representation of cryptocurrency Bitcoin in this illustration taken November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Sparks strike representation of cryptocurrency Bitcoin in this illustration taken November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
TT

Bitcoin Drops to 11-day Low amid Tech Selloff

FILE PHOTO: Sparks strike representation of cryptocurrency Bitcoin in this illustration taken November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Sparks strike representation of cryptocurrency Bitcoin in this illustration taken November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Bitcoin fell below $100,000 on Monday, hitting its lowest in 11 days, in a move analysts attributed to a wave of caution after the surging popularity of a Chinese artificial intelligence model sparked a selloff in Western AI-related stocks.

The world's biggest cryptocurrency struggled to make gains last week, as a rally that had seen it break above $100,000 after US President Donald Trump's election ran out of steam, Reuters reported.

At 1156 GMT, bitcoin was at $98,852.17, down around 6% on the day, having fallen sharply in early trading to hit its lowest since Jan. 16.

Technology stocks plunged, as traders worried that Chinese AI startup DeepSeek could threaten Western companies' dominance of the sector, in a move some called AI's "Sputnik moment", referring to the former Soviet Union's launch of a satellite that marked the start of the space race in the late 1950s.

Bitcoin's losses are "seemingly driven by some risk-off sentiment circulating the markets currently due to DeepSeek," wrote eToro analyst Simon Peters.

Geoffrey Kendrick, global head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered, said a decline in Nasdaq futures had hurt crypto markets, but that disappointment over the Trump administration's announcement about a cryptocurrency stockpile had put digital assets more at risk of a sharp selloff.

Crypto failed to feature in Trump's day-one announcements after taking office last week, leaving some investors disappointed. In an executive order on Thursday, Trump created a working group to draft new crypto rules and explore a crypto stockpile, while the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) spiked accounting guidance that the industry said had stymied crypto adoption.

The prospect of interest rates staying higher for longer also hurt riskier assets, said Thomas Puech, CEO of digital asset hedge fund Indigo.

US Federal Reserve policymakers meet this week and are expected to keep interest rates on hold.