Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has issued an air operator certificate to Air Arabia Alliance, the kingdom’s new low-cost national carrier, clearing it to begin operations from King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, the authority said on September 14.
The licence marks the start of a new front in Saudi Arabia’s domestic budget travel market, where Air Arabia Alliance will compete with flyadeal, the existing low-cost carrier owned by Saudia. Basing the start-up in Dammam is intended to strengthen air links to the kingdom’s Eastern Province, a region GACA has flagged as underserved relative to Riyadh and Jeddah, and to support the tourism and aviation targets set out under Saudi Vision 2030.
“The start of Air Arabia Alliance’s operations from Dammam will contribute to strengthening competition and improving performance in the air transport market, alongside boosting economic and tourism activity in the Eastern Province and generating new local job opportunities,” said Captain Suleiman bin Saleh Al-Muhaimeed, GACA’s vice-president for aviation safety and environmental sustainability, Saudi Press Agency reported.
Al-Muhaimeed said the carrier had cleared all the technical and regulatory stages required to obtain the certificate, and that the milestone reflected GACA’s role in creating an attractive environment for aviation investment. The airline is expected to serve 24 domestic and 57 international destinations, carrying about 10mn passengers a year by 2030.
GACA named Air Arabia Alliance the winner of the competition to run the new carrier on July 20, 2025, selecting it as the strongest bid with Saudi-majority ownership. The consortium comprises UAE-based budget carrier Air Arabia (DFM:AIRARABIA), Saudi conglomerate Nesma Group and Kun Investment Holding.
The start-up is expected to create more than 2,400 direct jobs and to support GDP growth in the Eastern Province alongside GACA’s wider aviation programme targets.