Riyadh - Mubasher: Dubai airline Emirates has said that it will offer a special A380 service at Saudi Arabia’s King Khalid International Airport (KKIA) in Riyadh to celebrate the kingdom’s 88th National Day on Sunday, 23 September.
The first flight, EK 813, is scheduled to land in the Saudi capital at 3.50pm, while the second, EK 814, will return to Dubai at 9.40pm.
The Emirates A380 flights are “a fitting way” to support the celebrations of Saudi Arabia’s 88th National Day, Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, divisional senior vice president at Emirates’ commercial operations centre, said.
KKIA, for which extensive redevelopment work has been planned, is “well-equipped to handle the A380”, Al Mualla added, citing close cooperation with the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) to ensure the success of the one-off operation.
Saudi Arabia is currently setting up a new terminal building for private jet passengers at KKIA, the Kingdom’s second-largest aviation hub.
The project’s design work was ongoing starting from May at SAR847.7 million ($226 million) in investments, according to Abu Dhabi-based ProTenders.
In May, KKIA’s operator, Riyadh Airports, had launched the first phase of the new duty-free store at the airport’s Terminals 1 and 2, while phase 2 of the programme was set to be finished in July, Arab News reported.
