عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Performance of Saudi Airlines Nearly Returns to Pre-Pandemic Levels

An Airbus A330 of Saudia airline company, also known as Saudi Arabian Airlines, lands in Toulouse. (AFP file photo)
An Airbus A330 of Saudia airline company, also known as Saudi Arabian Airlines, lands in Toulouse. (AFP file photo)
TT
TT

Performance of Saudi Airlines Nearly Returns to Pre-Pandemic Levels

An Airbus A330 of Saudia airline company, also known as Saudi Arabian Airlines, lands in Toulouse. (AFP file photo)
An Airbus A330 of Saudia airline company, also known as Saudi Arabian Airlines, lands in Toulouse. (AFP file photo)

Sources working in the aviation sector said on Thursday that the air transport movement witnessed high growth, reaching 90 percent of pre-pandemic operation levels.

The growth was supported by a number of measures and the lifting of many travel restrictions on domestic and international flights.

Dr. Hussein Al-Zahrani, Chairman of the Aviation Committee in the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce, said that the situation was improving significantly compared to last year, with the lifting of travel restrictions and the development of major tourism projects.

This recovery will accelerate various investments in the aviation sector, which seeks to raise the operation capacity to 330 million passengers and 4.5 million tons of goods by 2030, while increasing the number of international routes and flights to more than 250 destinations.

“The market allows the access of new companies into the sector, depending on the issuance of new licenses and the readiness of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Zahrani said.

Aircraft manufacturers have anticipated the recovery in a number of markets by accelerating their operations. Airbus earlier announced plans to speed up the manufacturing of its best-selling single-aisle aircraft, A320, amid expectations of reaching a record level in 2023. Boeing, for its part, expected that airlines will need 43,000 new aircraft by 2039, which means doubling the global fleet.

In this context, the Saudi market appears as one of the most important options for these companies and investors, with Saudi Arabia launching the National Strategy for Transport and Logistics Services, which aims to consolidate the Kingdom’s position as a global logistics hub linking three continents.

The Saudi Ministry of Transport revealed its plan to implement 300 giant projects with financial investments exceeding 500 billion riyals (USD 133 billion) and investment opportunities for the private sector in operation, construction and maintenance exceeding 100 billion riyals (USD 26.6 billion).

Mohammad Khoja, an investor and specialist in the aviation sector, told Asharq Al-Awsat that all indicators point to the improvement in the aviation performance at the local level, following a period of great recession due to the pandemic.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

IMF: Middle East Conflict Escalation Could Have Significant Economic Consequences

Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
TT
TT

IMF: Middle East Conflict Escalation Could Have Significant Economic Consequences

Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki

The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday that an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East could have significant economic ramifications for the region and the global economy, but commodity prices remain below the highs of the past year.

IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack told a regular news briefing that the Fund is closely monitoring the situation in southern Lebanon with "grave concern" and offered condolences for the loss of life.

"The potential for further escalation of the conflict heightens risks and uncertainty and could have significant economic ramifications for the region and beyond," Kozack said.

According to Reuters, she said it was too early to predict specific impacts on the global economy, but noted that economies in the region have already suffered greatly, especially in Gaza, where the civilian population "faces dire socioeconomic conditions, a humanitarian crisis and insufficient aid deliveries.

The IMF estimates that Gaza's GDP declined 86% in the first half of 2024, Kozack said, while the West Bank's first-half GDP likely declined 25%, with prospects of a further deterioration.

Israel's GDP contracted by about 20% in the fourth quarter of 2023 after the conflict began, and the country has seen only a partial recovery in the first half of 2024, she added.
The IMF will update its economic projections for all countries and the global economy later in October when the global lender and World Bank hold their fall meetings in Washington.
"In Lebanon, the recent intensification of the conflict is exacerbating the country's already fragile macroeconomic and social situation," Kozack said, referring to Israel's airstrikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon.
"The conflict has inflicted a heavy human toll on the country, and it has damaged physical infrastructure."
The main channels for the conflict to impact the global economy have been through higher commodity prices, including oil and grains, as well as increased shipping costs, as vessels avoid potential missile attacks by Yemen's Houthis on vessels in the Red Sea, Kozack said. But commodity prices are currently lower than their peaks in the past year.
"I just emphasize once again that we're closely monitoring the situation, and this is a situation of great concern and very high uncertainty," she added.
Lebanon in 2022 reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF on a potential loan program, but there has been insufficient progress on required reforms, Kozack said.
"We are prepared to engage with Lebanon on a possible financing program when the situation is appropriate to do so, but it would necessitate that the actions can be taken and decisive policy measures can be taken," Kozack added. "We are currently supporting Lebanon through capacity development assistance and other areas where possible."