The Saudi Civil Aviation Authority announced on Saturday the launch of the first direct flights from King Fahd International Airport in Dammam (east of the Kingdom) to the city of Najaf in Iraq via national carrier Flynas.
Flynas is the first Saudi airline to connect the two cities, with an average of three weekly flights, according to the company’s account on X.
In April, the Authority announced the start of direct flights to Najaf, as of June, in line with the Kingdom’s strategy for the aviation sector, which aims to reach more than 330 million passengers annually and more than 250 destinations in the world by 2030.
The launching ceremony was attended by the Ambassador of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to Iraq, Abdulaziz Al-Shammari, Iraq’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Safia Al-Suhail, the Governor of Najaf, Youssef Kannawi, and a number of officials in the governorate.
The leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, said that he was “optimistic to see Najaf receiving visitors from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” and stressed that it was “a step to break the ice between the two countries.”
