flynas Named 4th-Best Low-Cost Airline in the World, Best LCC in Middle East

The Skytrax Awards are seen as the top prize of the aviation industry and the most important global standard for excellence among airlines worldwide - SPA.
The Skytrax Awards are seen as the top prize of the aviation industry and the most important global standard for excellence among airlines worldwide - SPA.
TT

flynas Named 4th-Best Low-Cost Airline in the World, Best LCC in Middle East

The Skytrax Awards are seen as the top prize of the aviation industry and the most important global standard for excellence among airlines worldwide - SPA.
The Skytrax Awards are seen as the top prize of the aviation industry and the most important global standard for excellence among airlines worldwide - SPA.

flynas, the Saudi low-cost air carrier, in 2024 was named the fourth-best low-cost airline in the world for the second year in a row, and it kept its position as the best low-cost carrier (LCC) in the Middle East for the seventh consecutive year, according to the International Skytrax Organization, the global reference for assessing airline performance.

The Skytrax Awards are seen as the top prize of the aviation industry and the most important global standard for excellence among airlines worldwide, according to SPA.
On this occasion, flynas chief executive Bander Almohanna said that receiving this award for the seventh year in a row demonstrates that flynas has competently succeeded in keeping the high quality of its services in parallel with its expansion and growth plan.

He added that the achievement is in line with the National Aviation Strategy to enable national air carriers to contribute to connecting the Kingdom with 250 international destinations, reaching 330 million passengers, and attracting 100 million tourists annually by 2030.



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.