Berik Aryn, the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Saudi Arabia, met with Abdulaziz bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Duailj, the President of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), El.kz cites MFA.
During the meeting, the parties discussed issues of further expansion of air routes between the two countries. In particular, they noted the importance of the opening of regular flights between Astana and Riyadh by the airlines of the two countries.
Berik Aryn breifed about the available opportunities for Saudi airlines to use the 5th degree of air freedom regime in the Republic of Kazakhstan, which provides for the removal of restrictions on the number of flights and granting foreign airlines fifth degree of “freedom of air” on domestic routes.
Besides, he noted that in recent years Kazakhstan has become one of the attractive destinations for Saudi tourists, the number of which has increased tenfold compared to the pre-pandemic period.
Abdulaziz Al-Duailj emphasized that Kazakhstan is an important partner for Saudi Arabia and fully supported the proposals of the Kazakh side to expand air services between the two countries, the implementation of which will help strengthen bilateral cooperation, intensify business ties and increase the tourist flow.
Following the meeting, the parties agreed to continue joint efforts to launch new air routes between the two countries. Currently the Air Astana and the Saudi airline Flynas operate regular flights on the Almaty – Jeddah route, and the SCAT company flies on the Almaty – Medina, Shymkent – Jeddah and Shymkent – Medina routes.