Saudi Arabia Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud arrives to attend the APEC Leader's Informal Dialogue with Guests during the APEC 2022 in Bangkok, Thailand, 18 November 2022. (Reuters photo)
Saudi Arabia Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud arrives to attend the APEC Leader's Informal Dialogue with Guests during the APEC 2022 in Bangkok, Thailand, 18 November 2022. (Reuters photo)

His Royal Highness Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia and Chairman of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), announced today the establishment of “Riyadh Air,” a PIF wholly owned company.

The new carrier will leverage Saudi Arabia’s strategic geographic location between the three continents of Asia, Africa and Europe, enabling Riyadh to become a gateway to the world and a global destination for transportation, trade, and tourism.

Riyadh Air will be chaired by Yasir Al Rumayyan, Governor of PIF, while Tony Douglas, who brings more than 40 years of experience in the aviation, transportation and logistics industries, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer. The airline’s senior management will include Saudi and international expertise.

The airline is expected to add US$20 billion to non-oil GDP growth, and create more than 200,000 direct and indirect jobs.