Saudi Arabia launches new national airline

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman formally announced the creation of a new national airline, Riyadh Air, as the kingdom moves to compete with regional transport and travel hubs.

Riyadh Air will serve more than 100 destinations around the world by 2030, making use of the kingdom’s location between Asia, Africa and Europe, state news agency SPA said.

The new airline is expected to add $20 billion to Saudi Arabia’s non-oil GDP growth and create more than 200,000 jobs both directly and indirectly, it said.

Riyadh Air is wholly owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has more than $600 billion in assets and is the main driver of the kingdom’s efforts to diversify its economy and wean itself off oil.