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Saudi Airlines: Electric Aircraft Will Connect Key Regions of the Kingdom by End of 2026

The official spokesperson for Saudi Airlines, Engineer Abdullah Al-Shahrani (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The official spokesperson for Saudi Airlines, Engineer Abdullah Al-Shahrani (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Airlines: Electric Aircraft Will Connect Key Regions of the Kingdom by End of 2026

The official spokesperson for Saudi Airlines, Engineer Abdullah Al-Shahrani (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The official spokesperson for Saudi Airlines, Engineer Abdullah Al-Shahrani (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The official spokesperson for Saudi Airlines, Engineer Abdullah Al-Shahrani, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the 100 electric aircraft purchased from the German company Lilium will begin official operations in the second half of 2026, with the delivery of the first aircraft.
This follows a deal between Saudi Airlines and Lilium in July, marking one of the largest orders the company has received to date.
Speaking during the first day of the Global Logistics Forum in Riyadh, Al-Shahrani explained that a major test flight is scheduled for February next year. After that, infrastructure development and pilot training will begin, leading to the official launch in the second half of 2026. The full fleet will be delivered over six years, he remarked.
At the forum, Saudi Airlines showcased a real-life model of the Lilium electric aircraft. Al-Shahrani noted that each aircraft can reach a speed of 270 km/h and cover distances of up to 170 kilometers. Saudi Airlines plans to build a wide network of Lilium planes to link major areas in the Kingdom, with flight times ranging from 20 to 40 minutes, emphasizing the efficiency and time savings these aircraft offer.
The Lilium electric planes are expected to significantly increase the frequency of flights and reduce travel times by up to 90%, especially to tourist destinations that currently require longer journeys. They will also provide a solution for travel in congested areas, easing traffic and saving time.
Al-Shahrani further detailed plans to use the electric planes to connect King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah with key religious sites such as the Grand Mosque, Muzdalifah, Mina, and Arafat, utilizing landing zones near these locations. Similarly, they will link King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with entertainment districts like Qiddiya and Diriyah. Future plans include connecting the Red Sea Project resorts with regional airports and integrating the aircraft into the NEOM region.
This initiative aligns with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 and the National Transport and Logistics Strategy, contributing to the growth of the tourism, entertainment, and sports sectors. It will also facilitate the movement of 330 million travelers and 150 million visits, as well as support the transport of pilgrims during Hajj and Umrah, helping achieve the target of 30 million Umrah visitors.

 

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Business

Saudi GDP Grows 2.8% in First Quarter

The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA)
The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA)
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Saudi GDP Grows 2.8% in First Quarter

The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA)
The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA)

Saudi Arabia's real gross domestic product grew 2.8% in the first quarter, year-on-year, preliminary government estimates showed on Thursday.

Non-oil activities grew 2.8% in the quarter, and oil activities increased 2.3% from the prior-year period, the General Authority of Statistics data ⁠showed.

On a quarterly basis, growth shrank 1.5% in the three months to March 31 compared to the fourth quarter, driven by a decline in oil activities.

Oil activity decreased 7.2% from the fourth quarter, while non-oil activity was almost flat.

Business

IMF Warns Asia to Keep Policy in Balance Amid Energy Disruptions

FILE PHOTO: A view of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
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IMF Warns Asia to Keep Policy in Balance Amid Energy Disruptions

FILE PHOTO: A view of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo

Asian countries will need to keep their powder dry in preparation for future shocks even as they tackle an energy crisis caused by the Iran War, IMF Director for Asia Pacific Krishna Srinivasan said on Thursday.

With energy supplies running short due to the logjam in the Strait of Hormuz, southeast Asian economies have budgeted significant sums to cushion the impact of surging prices, and have also introduced measures to conserve energy, including work from home plans.

But Srinivasan, speaking at a media roundtable, warned countries against ramping up energy subsidies.

"If you give generalised subsidies, it's very hard to pull it back," he said, adding that countries should instead provide budget neutral ⁠and targeted fiscal ⁠support, and maintain fiscal discipline.

"In other words, cut elsewhere to support people who are being hit by the energy shock," Reuters quoted him as saying.

Srinivasan said that while some markets, such as Thailand and China, can hold off on tightening monetary policy because they are in deflationary territory, markets already above their inflation targets, including Australia, need to start now.

He also ⁠noted that some markets, such as the Philippines, have decided to tighten preemptively to anchor inflation expectations, but he added that the IMF's advice would have been to see through the shock and wait to see if inflation really picks up in a meaningful way.

"You may want to take insurance upfront or you may want to wait and see so that you don't hurt growth ... it's a very difficult balance to strike as a central bank governor," he said.

The IMF cut its global GDP outlook for 2026 to 3.1% on April 14, assuming ⁠a short-lived Middle ⁠East conflict and oil prices normalising in the second half of the year.

However, IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas warned that the fund's "adverse scenario" of 2.5% growth looked increasingly likely, with continued energy disruptions and no clear path to end the conflict.

Srinivasan said that if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed beyond the next three months and oil prices stay elevated for the rest of the year, the IMF's more severe growth scenarios will become more likely.

There are still downside risks to growth, with a number of uncertainties facing the world economy, including the duration of the energy crisis and the severity of fertiliser shortages, which could create a food supply shock, he said.

Business

Euro Zone Inflation Soars Further Above ECB Target

FILE -Clouds cover the sky over the headquarters of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, Sept. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)
FILE -Clouds cover the sky over the headquarters of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, Sept. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)
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Euro Zone Inflation Soars Further Above ECB Target

FILE -Clouds cover the sky over the headquarters of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, Sept. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)
FILE -Clouds cover the sky over the headquarters of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, Sept. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)

Euro zone inflation surged further in April on soaring energy costs, Eurostat data showed on Thursday, adding to the case for interest rate hikes, even if benign underlying price growth figures ease the urgency of any move.

Inflation in the 21 countries sharing the euro currency jumped to 3.0% this month from 2.6% in March, moving further above the European Central Bank's 2% target, with energy costs accounting for the vast majority of the increase.

A closely watched figure ⁠on underlying or 'core' ⁠inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, meanwhile slowed to 2.2% from 2.3% a month earlier.

Services inflation, a stubbornly high component of the price basket over the past several years, slowed to 3.0% from 3.2% while inflation for non-energy industrial ⁠goods, a key drag on prices picked up to 0.8%.

The figures are a mixed bag for the ECB, which is meeting on Thursday and will likely keep interest rates unchanged, even if it signals that policy tightening is increasingly likely, Reuters reported.

The high headline inflation print strengthens the argument for interest rate hikes but the underlying figures suggest that the initial energy shock is not yet creating major ⁠second round effects.

The ⁠ECB is largely powerless against an energy shock but must step in if these second round effects become visible as they risk creating a hard-to-break self-sustaining inflation spiral.

This is why investors expect the ECB to hike its 2% deposit rate already in June and see at least two more moves before the end of the year.

This outlook is volatile, however, and largely depends on developments in the Iran war and oil prices, which hit a four-year-high of $124 on Thursday.