TIRANA, Apr. 19- The second biggest Saudi Arabian airline FLYNAS will start operating in Albania offering low-cost flights from Tirana to Riyadh. A memorandum was signed today between the Albanian Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Belinda Balluku and Bander Al-Mohanna who is president of the airline. FLYNAS is awarded in Saudi Arabia for two consecutive years for the most competitive prices offered.
Following Albanian Prime Minister’s Edi Rama visit to Saudi Arabia on February this year, good relations were established, as well as now citizens from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman, can travel without visas to Albania starting Apr. 1 to October this year. Albanian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Sami Shiba has said on April 11 on the efforts to establish direct flights from Tirana to Riyadh and Jeddah to help tourists discover the Balkan country.
Minister Balluku said that the purpose of this memorandum is the establishing of a direct flight between Tirana and Riyadh and create a platform of opportunities for expanding to other destinations. This collaboration with FLYNAS is part of a strategy undertaken by the Albanian government to bring as many operators into the field as possible, affecting the improvement of the service as well as reducing ticket costs for travelers.
“The purpose of this memorandum is to identify the vast field and concepts that the Ministry of Infrastructure and FLYNAS could create a better relationship among each other,” said Balluku.
FLYNAS president Al-Mohanna evaluated the agreement on his behalf as a strategic step especially in supporting and strengthening tourism. He said that on the following months the airline will be closely working with the relevant institutions to set things in order, but an intercourse is expected to be set with the Albanian Ministry in Saudi Arabia, so a promotion campaign to attract potential tourists in Albania can be established.
“We are here with full conviction that Albania has all the necessary conditions to become a tourist attraction both for Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries,” said Al-Mohanna in a press conference.
Minister Balluku used this opportunity to mention progresses made in the civil aviation field thanks to various investments. The airport in Kukes is expected to operate soon, and an international competition will take place soon for the Vlora airport. Thus such projects are important for creating the proper environment for other large companies as FLYNAS to be interested in starting flight operations in our country. This would also create the necessary competition to offer more qualitative services and competitive prices.
FLYNAS on its behalf is a Saudi Arabia based low-cost airline established in 2007. It currently holds 31 planes and it is expected to sign its second major contract with Airbus in order to acquire 120 more. 6.6 million passengers flew during 2018 on the 60 thousand national and international flights the company ran. In Europe this company operates to Austria, Turkey, Greece, and also in all Middle Eastern countries, and some of the Far Eastern countries.
