عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Saudi Arabia Announces New Low-Cost Airline with Fleet of 45 Planes

The headquarters of the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation
The headquarters of the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation
TT
TT

Saudi Arabia Announces New Low-Cost Airline with Fleet of 45 Planes

The headquarters of the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation
The headquarters of the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation

Saudi Arabia announced on Sunday the planned establishment of a new national low-cost airline with a fleet of 45 planes to be ready by 2030, state media reported.

The United Arab Emirates's carrier Air Arabia was among an alliance of three companies that won a bid to operate the new airline.

The new carrier would operate domestic and international flights from and to King Fahd international airport in Dammam and is expected to expand travel options by serving 81 domestic and international destinations.

The announcement came during a ceremony in which Governor of Eastern Region Prince Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz inaugurated the new identity and master plan for the King Fahd International Airport.

The event also included the unveiling of the master plans for Al-Ahsa and Qaisumah international airports, the launch of the Dammam Airports Strategy, and the inauguration of a package of integrated development projects with a value exceeding 1.6 billion Saudi riyals.

The Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation said on its X account that the establishment of a new national low-cost airline aims to enhance air connectivity for the Eastern Region, increase seat capacity, improve service quality for travelers, and create a competitive environment that offers more choices, all in line with the objectives of the aviation program under the National Transport and Logistics Strategy.

It said the winning bid came from a consortium comprising Air Arabia, Nesma Group, and Kun Investment Holding, which submitted the most competitive proposal.
The new national low-cost carrier is expected to expand travel options by serving 24 domestic and 57 international destinations.

It aims to connect nearly 10 million passengers annually through King Fahd International Airport (KFIA) by 2030, in support of the sector’s strategic goals.

The project will also create over 2,400 direct jobs, contribute to GDP growth targets under the aviation program, and support economic development and tourism in Dammam and Eastern Region.

The alliance is expected to complete licensing procedures and begin operations in 2026.

Future Plans

Prince Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz on Sunday also unveiled Dammam airports' new strategy and he inaugurated electronic gates to streamline passenger procedures.

He stated that the significant expansion of the Saudi aviation sector is a direct result of the government's strong commitment to supporting this industry, recognizing its crucial role in achieving broader development goals.

This includes investing in infrastructure improvements, increasing air connectivity, and establishing the Kingdom as a major global logistics hub, all in line with the objectives outlined in Vision 2030.

The strategic plan targets serving more than 19.3 million passengers annually at KFIA by 2030, more than double the number in 2022.

It also aims to boost air cargo capacity to over 600,000 tons annually, a 1,000% increase, positioning the airport as a key regional logistics hub in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

Future developments include a record-breaking expansion of the airport’s operational capacity, increasing aircraft movements to 77 per hour and boosting annual passenger capacity to 32 million.

Additional projects include comprehensive upgrades to general aviation facilities and infrastructure to meet the highest international standards.

By the end of 2024, King Fahd International Airport had recorded a 35% increase in passenger traffic compared to 2022.

Minister of Transport and Logistic Services and Chairman of GACA Saleh Al-Jasser said: “The Kingdom, under the support of its wise leadership, is witnessing unprecedented advancements in aviation and air transport projects, initiatives, and services.”

He noted that launching a new low-cost carrier in the Eastern Region is one of the initiatives of the aviation program derived from the National Transport and Logistics Strategy.

GACA President Abdulaziz Al-Duailej stressed that the new strategic program emanates from the National Strategy for Transport and Logistics Services, a key pillar to enhance air connectivity, and achieve the Kingdom's targets to be a global center in air transport and logistics services.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

UK Economy Surged Ahead of Iran War, but Energy Shock to Test Resilience

Buses pass in front of the Bank of England building in London (Reuters)
Buses pass in front of the Bank of England building in London (Reuters)
TT
TT

UK Economy Surged Ahead of Iran War, but Energy Shock to Test Resilience

Buses pass in front of the Bank of England building in London (Reuters)
Buses pass in front of the Bank of England building in London (Reuters)

Britain's economy put on a burst of growth in February, suggesting it was in slightly better shape before the start of the Iran war than many economists had feared, official figures showed on Thursday.

Gross domestic product expanded 0.5% month-on-month in February, the biggest increase since January 2024, the Office for National Statistics said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a much more modest reading of 0.2%.

While the figures are likely to cheer finance minister Rachel Reeves, economists said Britain remained ⁠vulnerable to the fallout from ⁠the Middle East conflict, being highly dependent on imported energy and prone to higher inflation than peers.

"Unfortunately, the latest energy price shock has likely pulled the rug on this momentum, with another year of above-target inflation and a softening labour market likely to come," said Fergus Jiminez-England, associate economist from the National Institute for Economic and Social Research.

Britain suffered the sharpest cut to economic growth forecasts for large rich economies by the International ⁠Monetary Fund due largely to the Iran war, in forecasts published on Tuesday.

"Growth increased further in the three months to February led by broad-based increases across services," ONS chief economist Grant Fitzner said.

"Meanwhile car production recovered from the effects of the autumn cyber incident."

Economic growth for the three months to February was 0.5%, the ONS said, putting Britain's economy on track for a conspicuously strong first quarter, for a third year running.

That pattern has led to suspicions among some economists that the ONS' process of seasonal adjustment has gone awry following unusually large swings in output during the COVID-19 pandemic - something the ONS rejects.

"We're confident in our figures and seasonal adjustment processes," ⁠an ONS spokesperson ⁠said on Thursday, adding that statisticians had looked thoroughly at the issue.

James Smith, economist at ING, said he still doubted whether the ONS had fully accounted for the influence of the last period of high inflation in its seasonal adjustment process, and the timing of price increases.

"We wrote in our reaction to the January data that February or March could see a strong bounce back for exactly this reason," Smith said.

"Suffice to say, all of this is old news anyway, given the crisis we find ourselves in today."

Separate ONS data showed Britain's total trade deficit, excluding the volatile movements of precious metals, rose in inflation-adjusted terms in February to 5.627 billion pounds ($7.62 billion), its highest since November 2024.

The widening was driven by imports rising to their second-highest reading on record, after December 2022.

Business

Oil Little Changed on Skepticism US-Iran Peace Talks Will Ease Hormuz Disruption

FILE PHOTO: A map showing the Strait of Hormuz, also known as Madiq Hurmuz, and 3D printed oil barrels are seen in this illustration taken March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A map showing the Strait of Hormuz, also known as Madiq Hurmuz, and 3D printed oil barrels are seen in this illustration taken March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration//File Photo
TT
TT

Oil Little Changed on Skepticism US-Iran Peace Talks Will Ease Hormuz Disruption

FILE PHOTO: A map showing the Strait of Hormuz, also known as Madiq Hurmuz, and 3D printed oil barrels are seen in this illustration taken March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A map showing the Strait of Hormuz, also known as Madiq Hurmuz, and 3D printed oil barrels are seen in this illustration taken March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration//File Photo

Oil prices were little changed on Thursday, reversing earlier declines, on skepticism that peace talks between the US and Iran will reach a deal to end the war that has bottled up oil output from the key Middle East producing region.

Brent crude futures were down 26 cents to $94.67 a barrel at 0611 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 14 cents to $91.43 a barrel. Both benchmarks settled little changed on Wednesday but traded in a wide range. The US-Israeli war on Iran has ‌resulted in the ‌largest-ever disruption of global oil and gas supplies due ‌to ⁠Iran's interruption of traffic ⁠through the Strait of Hormuz, which typically carries about 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas flows.

"While there are hopes for de-escalation, many investors remain skeptical, given that US-Iran talks have repeatedly broken down even after appearing to make progress," said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities.

"Until a peace deal is reached and free navigation through the strait is restored, WTI prices are expected to continue fluctuating between $80 and $100," ⁠he added.

Analysts from ING estimate that roughly 13 million barrels ‌per day of oil flow has been disrupted ‌by the closure of the strait, after taking into consideration pipeline diversions and the trickle of ‌tankers that have passed through the gateway, they said in a note on ‌Thursday.

With the US blockade on Iranian ports announced after the collapse of peace talks over the weekend, the disruption could increase.

"The physical market is becoming tighter every day that passes without a restart of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz," the ING analysts said.

A source ‌briefed by Tehran told Reuters that Iran could consider allowing ships to sail freely through the Omani side of the ⁠Strait of Hormuz ⁠if a deal was reached to prevent renewed conflict after a two-week ceasefire started on April 8.

US and Iranian officials were weighing a return to Pakistan for further talks as early as the coming weekend. Pakistan's army chief arrived in Tehran on Wednesday as a mediator to try to prevent a renewal of the conflict.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that Washington will not be renewing the waivers that allowed the purchase of some Iranian and Russian oil without facing US sanctions.

Underscoring the tightness of global crude and oil product supply, US inventories of oil, gasoline and distillate fuels fell last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, as imports declined and exports jumped to meet the needs of countries searching for barrels to replace the disrupted flows.

Business

TotalEnergies: Strong Trading, High Oil Prices Will Boost Q1 Earnings

(FILES) This illustrative photograph shows screens displaying the logo of the French company TotalEnergies, listed on the CAC 40, the main stock market index of the Paris Stock Exchange, in Toulouse on March 31, 2026. (Photo by Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP)
(FILES) This illustrative photograph shows screens displaying the logo of the French company TotalEnergies, listed on the CAC 40, the main stock market index of the Paris Stock Exchange, in Toulouse on March 31, 2026. (Photo by Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP)
TT
TT

TotalEnergies: Strong Trading, High Oil Prices Will Boost Q1 Earnings

(FILES) This illustrative photograph shows screens displaying the logo of the French company TotalEnergies, listed on the CAC 40, the main stock market index of the Paris Stock Exchange, in Toulouse on March 31, 2026. (Photo by Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP)
(FILES) This illustrative photograph shows screens displaying the logo of the French company TotalEnergies, listed on the CAC 40, the main stock market index of the Paris Stock Exchange, in Toulouse on March 31, 2026. (Photo by Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP)

TotalEnergies expects a significant increase in first-quarter earnings from a strong trading performance, as well as in its upstream production and oil sales due to higher prices caused by the war in Iran, even as the conflict shut down 15% of the French group's overall production, it said on Thursday.

The group's margin on refining fuel in Europe during the quarter stood at $11.40 per barrel, up 192% from $3.90 a ⁠year earlier, and flat ⁠compared to the fourth-quarter 2025 margin of $11.40, it said in an earnings outlook.

It is due to report first-quarter earnings on April 29.

Benchmark Brent crude futures climbed to multi-year highs near $120 a barrel after US-Israeli strikes on Iran began in late February, followed by Tehran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz and its attacks on Gulf neighbors.

Despite losing output of about 100,000 barrels of oil-equivalent per day in the Middle East, additional production in other geographies helped keep overall production flat compared to the fourth quarter of 2025.

That led to a significant rise in first-quarter upstream income due to oil price gains, Total said, while downstream results also increased due to refineries running above 90% and "strong performance from crude oil and petroleum product trading activities in March."

According to Reuters, Total said strong trading around market volatility also significantly boosted its liquefied natural gas earnings.

British rivals BP and Shell have said the oil price volatility caused by the ⁠war significantly boosted ⁠their trading profits.

US peers Chevron and Exxon said higher prices boosted their upstream earnings, but hit their downstream business due to financial hedging transactions undertaken around cargoes that could not be delivered due to the Strait of Hormuz's closure.

Total's Integrated Power results are expected to be around $500 million, roughly flat compared to a year ago.

Marketing and Services will also be in line with results a year ago.

The company expects a working capital build of $5 billion for the quarter — about $2.5-3 billion of which Total attributed to the seasonality of the business, with the remainder related to the impact of oil and product price rises on Total's inventories.

Shares of TotalEnergies SE were down 0.8% at 76.04 euros at 0702 GMT, paring losses after falling as much as 3.2%.