The Saudi Arabia Air Connectivity Program (ACP) has announced a strategic collaboration with ITA Airways, Italy’s national airline, to enhance air links between Saudi Arabia and Europe. This partnership, announced on Wednesday, 28th February, will see the commencement of ITA Airways flights on two key routes: from Rome to Riyadh and Rome to Jeddah.
Utilising the Airbus A321neo, the largest in the Airbus A320 family, the airline will begin service to Riyadh in May 2024 and to Jeddah in August of the same year.
The schedule for the Rome-Riyadh route will include weekly flights beginning on the 5th of May, with departures on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays. An additional flight on Wednesdays will be introduced in June 2024. For the Rome-Jeddah route, starting from the 1st of August, flights will depart every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
In Business Class, travellers are greeted by new “Stelia Opera” seats, comfortable sleeper chairs that recline by 180 degrees, have direct access to the aisle, and enjoy ample legroom with 38-inch spacing between seats – a soft embrace ensuring quality resting, utmost freedom of movement and total respect for privacy. Travellers are able to charge their devices with a USB A+C socket, surf the internet through an on-board connection package, and watch on-board entertainment through a latest generation 17” screen with 4K resolution and low reflectance.
The new routes will not only provide access to ITA Airways’ extensive network of 51 destinations but are also expected to serve as vital links for business, tourism, and religious travel between the two countries.
“We are delighted that ITA Airways, the flag carrier of Italy, will commence direct flights from Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”, said Majid Khan, CEO of ACP. “These new connections from Rome will facilitate the travel of inbound tourists and business travellers from the ITA Airways network in Europe, South America, and the USA to the Kingdom. This is the beginning of a great collaboration between ITA Airways and ACP. We look forward to growing our partnership further”.
Aligned with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030—a comprehensive economic diversification plan aimed at developing sectors like tourism and aviation—the Kingdom is set to establish itself as a premier aviation hub in the Middle East. Following the welcoming of a record 100 million tourists in 2023, including 27 million foreign visitors, the Kingdom is significantly expanding its air route capacity to achieve its ambitious goals.
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Photo – top of page – courtesy of AIRBUS
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