Flynas to commence flights to Egypt’s Sphinx International airport

Saudi low-cost carrier flynas will soon launch direct flights to Sphinx International Airport in Egypt from two locations in Saudi Arabia.

Starting June 16, it will become the first Saudi carrier to operate nonstop flights to Sphinx International airport, the second international airport in Cairo.

Flynas will operate thrice-weekly flights from Jeddah to Sphinx International airport starting June 16, and will also initiate a thrice-weekly service from Riyadh starting July 1.

Sphinx International will therefore represent the fifth destination in Egypt that the carrier will operate services to from Saudi Arabia.

“We are pleased to announce operating the direct flights between the kingdom and Sphinx International Airport, especially while the launch of direct flights between Jeddah and Sphinx Airport comes ahead of the Hajj season for this year,” said Bander Almohanna, CEO and managing director of flynas.

The airline connects Egypt to the kingdom with direct flights from five Saudi cities including Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Medina, and AlUla, to Cairo, Sohag, Sharm El-Sheikh, and Hurghada.

“We already connect Egypt to the kingdom with more than 100 weekly direct flights, and the operation of direct flights to Sphinx International Airport pushes flynas’ expansion plans in the Egyptian market to a new level,” added Almohanna.

Flynas reported passenger numbers of 2.4 million for the first quarter of this year. It represents a 26 per cent increase over the 1.9 million passengers it carried in the corresponding period last year. The number of flights it operated in Q1 2023 stood at 17,000, a 13 per cent year-on-year increase over the 15,000 flights it operated in Q1 2022. The increase in its activity meant that the airline also reported a 47 per cent year-on-year increase in revenue.

Last month, flynas inducted three aircraft into its fleet as part of a US$10 billion order to purchase 120 aircraft from Airbus. Although it currently connects to 70 domestic international destinations, it is aiming to eventually fly to 165 destinations.

This article originally appeared on Business Traveller Middle East