Gulf Air denies being awarded Saudia Arabian domestic licence

Gulf Air Airbus A320-200

Gulf Air has denied ever bidding for or being awarded any domestic traffic rights to operate in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In a statement, the airline said its involvement in Saudi Arabia is in a purely "consultative capacity" to the Al Qahtani Group, a consortium of privately-owned Saudi companies. 

Accordingly, Gulf Air’s name and brand remain independent of the venture. The Bahraini carrier went on say that the initial contract signed last year to support the Al Qahtani Group’s bid for national traffic rights in Saudi Arabia has now concluded after the consortium was awarded one of the two licenses. 

A second consulting agreement between Gulf Air and the Al Qahtani Group is currently being negotiated in which Gulf Air will support the Al Qahtani Group in obtaining its Saudi Arabian Air Operator’s Certificate. 

In is to be recalled that in December 2012, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) did announce that both Gulf Air and Qatar Airways had been granted licenses to operate domestic Saudi Arabian services. 

However, at this point in time, it is still not clear as to why Gulf Air has waited more than eight months to clarify the matter.

Source: CH-Aviation