OREANDA-NEWS. Abu Dhabi Airports today welcomed flynas' inaugural flight from Riyadh, marking the start of the Saudi Arabian airline's new service, connecting the two capitals with a direct flight, five times per week.

Eng. Ahmad Al Haddabi, Chief Operations Officer of Abu Dhabi Airports, along with senior executives from Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), welcomed Bander Al Mohanna, CEO of NAS Holding, and key flynas officials, onboard the inaugural flight which landed at Abu Dhabi International Airport at 12:35pm local time.       

flynas will operate the new route using an Airbus A320 aircraft with the capacity to carry 164 guests in a two-class configuration - 156 in Economy and eight in Business Class. Flights operate every Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, departing Riyadh at 9:35am, arriving into Abu Dhabi International Airport at 12:35pm. The return flight takes off from the UAE capital at 2:45pm to land at King Khalid International Airport at 3:45pm local time.

Commenting on the launch of the new service, Ahmad Al Haddabi, Chief Operations Officer of Abu Dhabi Airports, said: "We are pleased to welcome flynas to the UAE capital. This new service further develops our airline portfolio while providing passengers with a world-class travel experience, whether they are traveling for business or leisure. It also successfully complements the collaborative efforts made by Abu Dhabi Airports and TCA Abu Dhabi to further strengthen Abu Dhabi's position as one of the leading tourist destinations regionally and internationally. From providing efficient and timely ground handling processes to smooth and easy flow of passengers at the airport, we look forward to fully cooperating with flynas to ensure the success of this new service."

Highlighting flynas' plans to strategically expand its footprint in key markets across the region, Bander Al Mohanna, CEO of NAS Holding, said: "We are delighted to touch down in Abu Dhabi with the launch of this new five-times-per-week service that connects the two capitals while offering convenient and affordable air travel options to guests traveling in both directions. Adding Abu Dhabi to our GCC route network is an important strategic step for flynas for multiple reasons, including our codeshare agreement with Etihad Airways as well as the long-standing friendship and the strong bilateral business and economic ties shared by the two nations. Moreover, Abu Dhabi's growing prominence as both a leading family-friendly tourism destination and a strategic business hub makes the opening of the new route a highly attractive proposition for Saudi travelers."

Sultan Al Dhaheri, Acting Executive Director, Tourism, TCA Abu Dhabi, said: "This new service makes Abu Dhabi even more accessible for Saudi Arabian travelers to enjoy the emirate's wide array of attractions. In September of this year we welcomed 15,256 Saudis to the emirate, a highly impressive rise of 42 per cent on the same period in 2014. This new route will see even more visitors from Saudi Arabia making the short journey and consolidate its position as one of the top ten markets for inbound tourism into Abu Dhabi. In the first nine months of this year, Saudi guests staying in the emirate's 163 hotels and hotel apartments have increased by 29% from the same period in 2014 to 112,294. Their average length of stay has also increased to 2.28 nights - up 7%."