Saudi Arabian low-cost carrier flynas is set to launch two new direct services to Egypt in time for the Hajj pilgrimage season.
Into Egypt
Flights between Cairo’s recently opened Sphinx International Airport (SPX) and Mecca Gateway Jeddah (JED) are scheduled to launch on June 16, while a second service from Cairo to Riyadh (RUH) will begin on July 1. Both routes offer 3x weekly direct flights, with Cairo becoming the fifth Egyptian destination for the budget airline.
On the new routes, Bander Almohanna, CEO and Managing Director of flynas, said,
“We are pleased to announce operating the direct flights between the Kingdom and Sphinx International Airport, especially while the launch of direct flights between Jeddah and Sphinx Airport comes ahead of the Hajj season for this year, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Egyptian and the Saudi Civil Aviation authorities for their persistent efforts to open up greater connectivity between the two brotherly countries.”
The carrier currently operates over 100 weekly flights between Saudi Arabia and Cairo, with routes including Cairo’s primary hub Cairo International Airport (CAI), Hurghada (HRG), Sohag (HMB), and Sharm-el-Sheikh (SSH) from the airline’s bases in Jeddah, Riyadh, and Dammam (DMM), as well as smaller airports Medina (MED) and AlUla (ULH).
Flynas will be the first Saudi operator to connect to the smaller Cairo Airport, though it will compete against Egyptair subsidiary Air Cairo on all routes. The expansion through the city is set to support flynas’ growth plans across the market, providing low-cost links between the two countries.
Growth for flynas
As of May 2023, the airline offers flights to over 70 domestic and international destinations across Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. Flynas has continued its rapid expansion through the pandemic and is now eying cementing its position as the largest budget airline in the Middle East and North Africa by the end of the decade.
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The airline currently operates at least one in six of all flights across Saudi Arabia, with domestic travel accounting for roughly 70% of its weekly services; however, demand remains high for international visitors, including outbound Saudi tourists, religious passengers, and business travel.
According to ch-aviation records, flynas currently operates 40 active aircraft, primarily comprised of Airbus A320 family aircraft, with two A330-300s for pilgrimage operations. Eight more aircraft, seven A320-200 and one A330, are currently listed as inactive. The carrier holds orders for 52 more Airbus aircraft; 41 A320neo jets, ten A321XLR, and one additional A330.
Riyadh is currently the airline’s largest base of operations with over 30% of flynas flights operating to and from the country’s capital city. Speaking at the Routes Europe 2023 conference earlier this month, the carrier confirmed it was eyeing the launch of a fourth base at a currently unnamed Saudi Arabian airport, potentially launching by the end of the year.
What are your thoughts on flynas’ new routes? Will you be flying with the carrier this year? Let us know in the comments.