Riyadh Air

♦ RIA (Riyadh International Airlines) was mooted as Saudi’s second national carrier, based out of Riyadh, with Saudia, which operates from Jeddah, focusing on religious traffic bringing pilgrims to the country’s holy sites, especially during the Hajj pilgrimage. The new carrier had intended to start operations in 4Q2022 but that was delayed until 2025. On 12Mar2023 Saudi Arabia announced the establishment of a new national carrier, Riyadh Air. Suspect this replaces RIA. On 14Jun2023, the airline was granted the Passenger Air Transport Economic License by the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA)

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