Flynas to launch Saudi flights from Manchester

A second Saudi airline will start flying direct to Jeddah from Manchester in the spring, taking the number of weekly flights to the city to six.

Flynas, a low cost airline owned by the Riyadh-based group National Air Services, will start three flights a week from May 2 at an introductory return price of £160.

The move follows plans by national carrier Saudia Airlines to restart direct flights between Manchester and Jeddah in April after a seven-year absence.

Flynas, which announced the service at a reception at the Hilton Hotel in Manchester today, has previously focused on short haul flights to destinations in the Middle East.

It is adding Manchester and Gatwick, and five other international destinations, as part of a push into the long haul market and hopes to attract a large number of the 100,000 religious pilgrims who travel from the UK to Saudi Arabia every year.

Sulaiman Al Hamdan, group chief executive of NAS Holdings, said: “Manchester is among our key destinations, chosen as part of a global programme and selecting it was a logical choice given its strong in-bound and out-bound traffic.”

Manchester Airports Group’s chief operating Andrew Cowan said: “The Middle East is a key region of growth for us and we know there are a lot of people in the Manchester catchment who are keen to fly direct to Jeddah. We saw passenger numbers grow to over 20 million from Manchester last year and this route will help add to that.”