Saudi Arabia GACA awards AOC to Air Arabia consortium to launch LCC based at Dammam Airport

Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) granted (14-Sep-2026) an air operator's certificate (AOC) to the consortium of Air Arabia, Nesma Group and KUN Holding to launch a new LCC based at Dammam King Fahd International Airport. As previously reported by CAPA, the start up LCC aims to serve 24 domestic and 57 international destinations with 45 aircraft by 2030, handle approximately 10 million passengers p/a and create more than 2400 direct jobs in Saudi Arabia. [more - original PR]