Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has announced that it has granted Flexjet, a company specialising in private aircraft operations, a foreign operator licence, making it the second foreign private aviation company to obtain this certificate to operate domestic flights in the Kingdom.
The authority's Executive Vice President for Economic Policies and Logistics Services, Awad bin Attallah Al-Sulami, handed the foreign operator certificate to Flexjet's Head of Operations, Ben Watts, at the authority's headquarters in Riyadh, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
The certificate was granted under GACA's decision to allow foreign private aircraft operators to conduct "on-demand" flights within the Kingdom as of 1 May 2025, after the company met all the requirements and standards set out in the executive regulations of the Civil Aviation Law.
Awad bin Attallah Al-Sulami, the authority's Executive Vice President for Economic Policies and Logistics Services, explained that granting the foreign operator certificate to operate private aircraft "on demand" domestically in the Kingdom reflects Saudi Vision 2030's drive to attract high-quality investment and strengthen the Kingdom's position in the global aviation industry, contributing to the development of the sector and raising its competitiveness regionally and internationally.
He added that granting this certificate is a pivotal step in the authority's efforts to raise the level of experience for users of the private aviation sector and ensure the sustainability of operational quality, and underlines the authority's keenness to provide a stimulating investment environment and offer all forms of support to enable civil aviation activities.
He stated that this step confirms the authority's role as the main regulator of the air transport industry in the Kingdom, through building strategic partnerships with stakeholders, thereby enhancing the sector's overall capabilities and raising performance efficiency.
It is worth noting that issuing the company's air operator certificate is one of the key pillars for achieving the targets of the Aviation Program emanating from the National Transport and Logistics Strategy, which aims to make the Kingdom's aviation sector the first in the Middle East by 2030 and to transform the Kingdom into a global logistics platform linking three continents, with private aviation serving as a key contributor to business and tourism from inside and outside the Kingdom.
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