New facilities and resorts at two Red Sea projects, Neom and Al Ula, will likely transform tourism in the region, according to NasJet Private Aviation v-p of commercial sales and marketing Yosef Hafiz.
“I believe that a good deal of the tourism that the Maldives used to get will start shifting towards Saudi Arabia,” Hafiz told AIN. “We’re seeing a lot of press articles written about ultra-luxury resorts being set up, not only at the Red Sea Project and Amaala but in Neom, too. Neom’s Sindalah Island is expected to open for business in 2024 as an ultra-luxury resort for high-net-worth individuals. The first phase of the Red Sea Project is expected to open by the end of 2024 with 16 resorts, I understand.”
Hafiz said Saudi officials are responding to the challenge. “Saudi Arabia is open for business,” he said. “You can see the changes that have taken place over the past few months in the visa program. There’s now a transient visa, which allows any nationality in the world, even if he’s coming in on a round trip, as soon as he books his ticket on one of Saudi Arabia’s airlines, Saudia or FlyNas—the passenger can automatically get a visa to enter Saudi Arabia if it’s for less than 96 hours.”
Anyone who has residency in the Gulf Cooperation Council is welcome to apply for a tourist visa or obtain one on arrival. Anyone who has a Schengen visa, or has entered the Schengen states, or the UK or U.S., is able to enter Saudi Arabia and obtain a visa on arrival. “There’s an influx of new passengers and people coming into the kingdom that we’ve never seen before,” Haiz said. “Those resorts will see a strong influx of people.”
He believes the contrast between the kingdom and the Maldives is striking. “The Red Sea is 10 times, if not 50 times, more beautiful than the Maldives," Haiz commented. "In the Maldives, if you go offshore, there’s no coral reef, there’s nothing to see. In the Red Sea, you’re diving off the shore, you’re seeing the coral reef and the beauty of [its waters]; if you take a boat out, you’ll see how beautiful it is, how well it’s preserved.”
Hafiz went on to detail the pace of change in aviation in the kingdom. “The aviation sector, whether it’s private, business, general aviation, or commercial aviation, is booming, as it was at the end of 2022,” he said. “We’re seeing an uptick in aircraft movements. We’re seeing an increase in owners bringing their aircraft under our management program.”
As evidence of the new type-agnosticism abroad in Saudi Arabia, Hafiz noted two aircraft that recently joined the NasJet fleet—a Pilatus PC-24 and Boeing BBJ 747-400. “The PC-24 is on our operational specifications now,” he said. “We’re operating that aircraft officially. Then we went to the other extreme and found a very large private business aircraft, a Boeing 747. We are now the operator of that aircraft.”
The 747 was an owner-managed aircraft. Hafiz reiterates the transition where owners are unable to fly into and out of Saudi Arabia or base their aircraft there unless they are on a Saudi air operator certificate (AOC) for charter or an operator certificate (OC) for private use. “We’re still seeing GACA push hard for resolution and for change to take place, which is good for them, to be honest. It’s guiding owners to those who offer a solution to the service. The primary provider in the region who’s offering the service is NasJet.”
Today, seven aircraft are on the NasJet AOC: an Airbus A318; Gulfstream G450 and GIV-SP. Embraer Legacy 650 and 600; Dassault Falcon 900B; and Cessna Citation Excel. Eventually, the PC-24 will transition over to the AOC as well, he said, for a total of eight.
“On the OC, we have the PC-24, Boeing 767, Boeing 747, Airbus A318, and Challenger 850. Hopefully, we’ll add a Boeing 737-300 Classic.”
There are going to be eight makes and models on the AOC, which Hafiz calls “quite impressive...It’s not like VistaJet, with its Bombardier-only Challenger 650s or 350s. It gives you several options. It shows you the diversity of this type of operation within the Middle East. Show me somebody who is similar in nature and has such a diverse fleet. I haven’t found one yet. Such diversity can maybe only be found in the U.S.”
NasJet also intends to bring a Swiss-registered wet-lease aircraft for a special project that it has run before back into the fleet. “It’s a Twin Otter DHC-6, like the ones that fly into the Maldives—the seaplanes,” he said. “They fly at high altitude and land at high elevation. We’re going to be operating one in the near future. It adds up to a lot of changes, a lot of diversification.”
Given the current dearth of charter aircraft available, Hafiz acknowledged that NasJet would have to speed up the transfer of aircraft from private use to charter.
“The General Authority for Civil Aviation [GACA] wants us to accelerate the transition of aircraft and is supporting us," he said. "They’re making it a lot easier. Each aircraft has its individual owner. Each one under management has its own unique setup. Each one is different in structure from the others. What adds another curve ball to all this is that there’s only one aircraft that we own today. We owned 10 around five years ago.”
He said GACA is speaking to operators and stakeholders to determine areas that could be improved upon, and to help expedite new entry to the market by transitioning aircraft from private operations. “They are receptive and they’re doing their best to change, amend, and improve the rules and regulations, to help align with Vision 2030 and with their own strategy for general aviation in 2030,” Hafiz said. “That foresees increased charter demand in the near future and an influx of new aircraft into the market.”