United Arab Emirates (UAE) low-cost carrier Air Arabia is to introduce an eighth destination in Saudi Arabia to its expanding network with the introduction of flights to Abha, the capital of the Asir province of the country located in its mountainous south-western region. The budget carrier will offer a three times weekly schedule on the new route from its Sharjah International Airport base from May 22, 2013.

Air Arabia made its debut in Saudi Arabia in July 2004 when it inaugurated non-stop flights between its Sharjah International Airport base and King Fahd International in Dammam, King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and King Khaled International in Riyadh. It subsequently added flights to Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz in Madinah in September 2009, Gassim Regional Airport in Buraidah in July 2011, Yanbu in November 2011 and Taif in June 2012.

“The new service to Abha is a testament to Air Arabia’s commitment in offering greater connectivity and value-for-money services for our customer base in the Kingdom,” said, Adel Ali, chief executive officer, Air Arabia Group. “Since launching operations to the Kingdom in 2004, Air Arabia has been determined to using its infrastructure to organically grow its operations into many cities across the Kingdom.”

The introduction of Abha to its network and the frequency will mean Air Arabia will be offering 88 flights a week into Saudi Arabia this summer from Sharjah and the Alexandria hub of sister carrier Air Arabia Egypt. In 2012 an estimated 3.15 million O&D passengers flew between Saudi Arabia and UAE, with Air Arabia accounting for a 9.7 per cent share in a market dominated by Saudia (32.4 per cent), flyDubai (23.6 per cent) and Emirates Airline (16.4 per cent).

Abha is developing as a popular tourist destination due to natural attractions such as its seasonal weather and fertile mountains. Initially a popular location for leisure breaks for Saudi nationals, it is becoming more popular with foreign visitors. According to census data the population of the city almost doubled from 112,148 in 1992 to 201,912 in 2004 and is forecasted to almost reach the 300,000 figure this year. Abha Regional Airport, which serves the city is already served domestically by Nasair and Saudia and linked to international destinations in Egypt, Yemen and the UAE; the latter a direct link to Dubai by fellow low-cost carrier flydubai.