Saudi company protests over decision on Saudi Arabia's first private commercial airline licence

Airline Industry Information, July 18, 2005

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

Al-Tayyar Travel Group Share Company is protesting against the Saudi government's decision to award National Air Services an operating licence for commercial air services.

National Air Services will reportedly operate a service called Al-Khayala.

Nasser al-Tayyar, deputy board chairman and managing director of Al-Tayyar Travel Group Share Company, has expressed surprise over the decision to award the first licence for a private commercial airline before the civil aviation authority has published the guidelines for operating such a service in the country, Agence France Presse reported.

Al-Tayyar's group has applied for a licence to operate national flights and said that it would offer flights at lower prices than Saudi Arabian Airlines, the national carrier.

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