DOHA: Qatar Airways has launched a new flight service to NEOM Bay Airport in Saudi Arabia. NEOM is the new futuristic city emerging in the northwest corner of the country.
The inaugural flight from Doha’s Hamad International Airport touched down at NEOM Bay on Saturday.
The airline is using an Airbus A320-214 for the 1,650-mile flights. Qatar Airways flight 1205 departs NEOM Bay for Doha on Saturdays at 14:00 and Thursdays at 13:40. From Doha to NEOM Bay, Qatar Airways flight 1204 leaves Hamad International Airport at 06:55 on Saturdays and 06:35 on Thursdays.
Qatar Airways is the fourth airline to offer passenger services to NEOM Bay, joining Flyadeal, flydubai, and Saudia.
The new service to NEOM Bay is Qatar Airways’ tenth destination in Saudi Arabia, complementing its existing routes to Al Ula, Dammam, Gassim, Jeddah, Medina, Riyadh, Tabuk, Taif, and Yanbu.
The expanding operations at NEOM Bay are part of the Saudi Vision 2030 plan announced in 2016. One of the main pillars was to increase the economic, social, and cultural connections between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region and beyond.
Saudi Arabia was ranked second globally in tourist arrivals during the first seven months of 2023, the Saudi Press Agency reported last month.The Kingdom saw 58 percent growth in tourist numbers up to the end of July compared to the same period in 2019, according to the Ministry of Tourism.
