Saudi Arabian Airlines, Air India add services under new bilateral agreement

Riyadh: Saudi Arabian Airlines will extend operations to three new Indian destinations, Calicut, Lucknow and Bangalore under a new aviation agreement agreed to by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and India. In turn, Indian flag carrier, Air India, will introduce a new service to the Madinah International Airport and extend existing services to Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah.

These decisions were taken at a meeting held last week in Jeddah, which reviewed the bilateral air services agreement between the two countries.

RK Singh, joint secretary, ministry of civil aviation, led the Indian delegation while Dr Mohammed R Beranji, vice president of the General Authority of Civil Aviation, chaired the Saudi Arabian side.

According to sources, Saudi Arabian Airlines will also fly to cities such as Ahmedabad, Trivandrum and Kolkatta in the second phase of the agreement, while two private Indian airlines will be allowed to fly to Riyadh and Dammam.