Jeddah : The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, earlier, formally revealed that the Red Sea International Airport programme is scheduled to open by 2023 end and serve at least a million passengers by 2030. Rece-ntly, new developments in the programme showed that Saudia will be the first airline to operate from the new airport.

The Red Sea International Airport programme began construction in 2021, approximately 15 kilometers inland from the coast of the Red Sea, hence the name.

Despite a final construction completion date scheduled for 2030, the first phase of the Red Sea International Airport programme is expected to open later in 2023, alongside the first three of 50 hotels also part of the overall programme.

Reports cited John Pagano, Group Chief Executive Officer, Red Sea Global (developer of Red Sea Int'l Airport) saying, "When the first commercial flight touches down at Red Sea International, it won't merely be a matter of personal pride for Red Sea Global. It will better symbolise a landmark achievement for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in transforming that vision into a tangible reality."

The developer recently signed an MoU with Saudia and daa Int’l - the selected operator of Red Sea Int’l Airport.

Under the new agreement, the flag carrier is on course to become the inaugural carrier to operate inbound and outbound flights from the new airport.

Although the new airport will only be open for domestic flights to and from Riyadh initially, Red Sea Int’l Airport will be open to flight services to and from Jeddah before expanding to accept int’l flights within the first half of 2024.