Oman Air, the national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman, today launches a new weekly service between Muscat, the capital of Oman, and Madinah, in Saudi Arabia. The new service will offer flights from Muscat to Madinah on Tuesdays (departing 1540, arriving 1750) and returning from Medina to Muscat on the same day (departing 1840, arriving 2235).
To mark the launch of the new service, Oman Air has invited Senior Government officials and leading Omani journalists to a ceremony held at Muscat International Airport. This new service builds on the recent launch of Oman Air’s Salalah to Jeddah service and marks the airline’s 43rd destination worldwide. Madinah is Oman Air’s fourth destination in Saudi Arabia, the other three being Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam.
In addition to travelling to and from Madinah passengers using the new service will also be able to travel in one direction to/from Madinah and return from/to Jeddah in the other, which offers the perfect flexibility especially for passengers travelling on religious pilgrimage.
His Excellency Eng. Salim bin Nasser al-Aufi, Chairman of Oman Air’s Executive Committee and CEO of Oman’s Public Authority for Civil Aviation, said:
“We are delighted to be launching this new service between Muscat and Madinah, which further strengthens links between Oman and Saudi Arabia and continues the expansion of Oman Air’s network. This new service also underlines Oman Air’s commitment to supporting not only the growth of the Sultanate’s tourism sector but also the trade and commerce opportunities and we look forward to both welcoming many more visitors from Madinah whilst also improving access of the Omani residents to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
Abdulrazaq Alraisi, Oman Air’s Chief Commercial Officer, adds: “Oman Air’s new weekly flight between Muscat and Madinah will give even more visitors from Saudi Arabia the chance to experience the outstanding services of Oman Air and discover Oman’s many attractions. It will also offer greater opportunities for travelers from the Sultanate to visit Saudi Arabia. We are confident that this addition to our growing network will prove to be a great success.”
Madinah is a modern city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Medina Province. The city is the second most important Islamic pilgrimage destination after Mecca and it was the first power base of Islam during the faith’s first century. Home to the three oldest mosques in Islam, it has a population of over 1.6 million.
Oman Air’s commitment to increasing tourism traffic within the Middle East is paralleled by its broader expansion across the Middle East, Asia, Europe and Africa. Further announcements about new routes and codeshare agreements are expected over the course of 2013.
