The opening ceremony was attended by Saudi Ambassador to China Mr. Yahya Al-Zaid, the vice president of the Civil Aviation Authority in Guangzhou, top SV executives and a large number of media persons from both countries.

Mr. Al-Hazmi and his accompanying delegation arrived in Guangzhou on Sunday on board the first Saudi Arabian flight (No. 880) to the city, using a Boeing 777 aircraft. The flight, which originated from Jeddah had a stopover in Riyadh. The return flight (No. 881) also passes by Riyadh.

In a statement on the occasion, Mr. Al-Hazmi said the decision to operate the new flight to China was taken on the directive of Eng. Al-Molhem, after conducting a feasibility study, within the framework of expanding Saudi Arabian’s international network.

Al-Hazmi disclosed the Airline’s plans to operate flights to other Chinese cities if it was found economically feasible. The flights to Guangzhou will be available on the Jeddah-Riyadh-Guangzhou route on Saturdays, Tuesdays and Thursdays while on the Guangzhou-Riyadh-Jeddah route on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

“Efforts are underway to develop Saudi Arabian’s network in line with the tremendous progress it has achieved over the past years in terms of upgrading technical infrastructure, purchasing advanced aircraft and improving customer services,” the DDG said.

On his part, Saudi Ambassador Al-Zaid expressed his happiness over the remarkable progress achieved by the national carrier over the years. “The new flight to Guangzhou can be considered an important phase in the development of Saudi Arabian Airlines as it would serve the growing passenger and cargo traffic between the two countries,” the ambassador said.

“We hope Saudi Arabian would operate its flights to more Chinese cities in the future. We are proud of Saudi Arabian Airlines being one of the largest airlines in the world,” Al-Zaid said.