The first Saudi Arabian Airlines plane landed at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on Tuesday evening, taking off from Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport.
The flight is described as “the first of its kind since it was aborted 32 years ago when Saudi Airlines was carrying Korean workers who were involved in construction work in Saudi Arabia.”
“On this historic occasion,” a ceremony was held during which “the flight was opened to receive passengers on board the aircraft with the number (SV898) at the first stage of Incheon International Airport.”
Arriving passengers were reportedly received by some Saudi Airways staff led by Asia Director Ram Khaled Zareh, as well as staff from the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Seoul led by Ambassador Sami Al-Sadhan and a military attache. , Colonel “Sami Al-Abdullah”, who distributed symbolic gifts.
At the inauguration ceremony, Mr. Reham said, “This occasion is very beautiful and will certainly help increase traffic between the two countries.”
Regarding Saudi Ambassador Sami Al-Sadhan, he said: “I want to express my happiness and pride at this historic moment as we receive the first Saudi Airlines flight after a hiatus of almost 8 years, and today we will file a farewell application for another flight. flying to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”, adding in this context that he said that “behind this achievement is a lot of work and a lot of work that went on for several months until it was achieved, according to the leadership of Saudi Arabia in the importance of restoring this direct line between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Korea. This line will help strengthen relations and raise them to a higher level.”
And the Saudi Ambassador in Seoul continued, “Now travelers, businessmen, students and tourists from the two countries can easily travel by direct flight without having to stop in another country and wait for hours, this will contribute a great deal to the relationship between the two countries,” noting also that with this move, “the two countries are marking the 60th anniversary of establishing relations, just as the Saudi Arabian embassy in Seoul and the Korean embassy in Riyadh are celebrating.”
For his part, Kim Yong Il, head of marketing at Incheon International Airport, said, “We express our special congratulations on the occasion of the opening of a direct line between Seoul and Riyadh on the day of the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Saudi Arabia. Arabia has been signed,” emphasizing that Incheon Airport is ready to provide support to revive tourism between the two countries in connection with this historic event.
It is noteworthy that flights between Riyadh and Seoul will operate with a frequency of 3 flights per week and will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays on Saudi Airlines Boeing 787 aircraft, consisting of 24 seats in business class and 274 seats in guest class. class. This is a Dreamliner aircraft with an entertainment system in each seat and up to 5,000 hours of entertainment.
Source: Yonhap