In the last 30 minutes, Riyadh Air has just announced a major milestone: They will begin proving flights from Riyadh starting tomorrow (September 12).
The start-up Saudi carrier is making strong moves towards the start of commercial flights in 2025.
Without further ado, let’s get into it…
Riyadh Air Proving Flights…
In a statement posted on social media, Riyadh Air said the following on the upcoming proving flights:
“Tomorrow is a historic day for Riyadh Air as we start noncommercial flights from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s capital city, Riyadh, as part of our AOC (Air Operator Certificate) process required by the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA)”.
“Over the coming months, we will be operating a number of rotations to domestic and international destinations as part of the flying program, with the first flight RX5001 departing King Khalid International Airport for Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport on Thursday, 12 September”.
“A huge thanks to our key stakeholders who have helped us prepare for this moment: our regulator GACA for their ongoing oversight, our friends at Saudia Airlines from whom we have leased the 787-9 aircraft, our partners Riyadh Airports Company for their comprehensive support, Saudi Technic for ensuring the planes are in optimal condition for our crew, and Alsalam Aerospace Industries Company for providing hangar facilities and support in Riyadh”.
“This marks another important milestone in our journey to our maiden flight in 2025”.
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One Step Closer to Reality?
These proving flights with Riyadh Air represents an exciting and major part of their journey to commercial operations.
It is a culmination of years worth of work which will now be assessed by regulators.
If they get the greenlight from GACA, then this will mean that 2025 as the launch year will be confirmed.
At the moment, the carrier is an all-Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet, with narrowbody orders expected in the future.
Overall…
In conclusion, this marks a big step for Riyadh Air.
Effectively, all eyes turn to tomorrow and the next few weeks ahead as these proving flights progress.
As soon as they get the rubber stamp from GACA, then it is all systems go for the launch in 2025.
But for now, all eyes will be on the first proving flight tomorrow in Riyadh and Jeddah.
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