Saudi Arabia in talks to open military airspace

The Saudi General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) is in talks with the Royal Saudi Air Force to allow civilian traffic to transit through vast swatches of airspace currently restricted to military traffic, Arabian Gulf Business Insight has reported.

“There are multiple projects ongoing to redesign the air capacity and air corridors. We are trying to resolve restrictions as well as applying the latest technologies and radar information systems to shorten the trip time, open new corridors, and increase capacity. We will announce the outcome once it’s completed,” GACA Vice-President (Strategy and Business Intelligence) Mohammed Alkhuraisi said.

Riyadh is currently prioritising the airline industry as a strategic sector for the country as it looks to pivot away from its reliance on fossil fuels. As a part of the strategy, Saudi Arabia is developing a second flag carrier, RIA (Saudi Arabia), and is evaluating a third one to serve the future linear city of Neom. The country is also welcoming other strategic investments, attracting Wizz Air to set up a local unit. In addition, the country removed all restrictions on foreign carriers traversing its airspace, effectively permitting flights to and from Israel to overfly it despite the lack of recognition of the country.

However, the country’s ambitions are limited by the fact that 44% of its total airspace is currently restricted to military operations only. As such, GACA is both engaged with the air force to allow civilian traffic in more regions and investing in airspace capacity.