ISLAMABAD: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the country’s cash-strapped national carrier, says it plans to boost the number of flights it operates to Saudi Arabia to more than 60 a week.
The airline, which is struggling to service its debt, is looking to grow its business in Saudi Arabia, with routes to the country being its largest source of revenues, Arab News reported.
“PIA has an aggressive plan to boost its presence in Saudi Arabia. We will be increasing our flights to more than 60 per week and opening new destinations,” PIA President and CEO Musharraf Rasool Cyan told.
He was speaking on the eve of the inauguration of Pakistan digital edition of the newspaper, www.arabnews.pk.
He said Saudi Arabia has always been very important to the airline, which currently has 55 weekly flights to the kingdom. It flies to four destinations, with 28 flights a week to Jeddah, 10 to Dammam, nine to Madinah and eight to Riyadh.
Cyan said that by mid-2018, PIA will be launching flights to new destination Al-Qassim with three flights per week. In addition to that, the carrier will be adding one flight each to existing routes of Jeddah, Madinah and Riyadh.
“This will comprise more than 60 fights to Saudi Arabia thus making PIA the biggest operator from South Asia to Saudi Arabia,” he said.
He said PIA plans to open an office in Taif very soon. He added that, besides passenger travel, PIA has finalised a plan to enhance its cargo business in Saudi Arabia, which is likely to increase trade between the countries.
