Saudia Airlines to Fly Direct from Kualanamu to Jeddah, Madina Starting August 31

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Starting August 31, Saudia Airlines will offer direct flights from Medan's Kualanamu to Jeddah and Medina. The direct route, which will be operated four times a week, is a step towards expanding the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's connections to serve various segments of guests.

Faisal Alallah, manager of Saudia Airlines Indonesia, Singapore, and Australia, said the airline met with officials at Kualanamu International Airport (KNIA) to organize operations, prepare service platforms to contribute to the smooth flow of traffic at the airport, and speed up procedures.

"We aim to increase our market share, not only in the hajj and umrah sector. Indonesia is one of the most popular Islamic travel markets," said Faisal.

Saudia Airlines' Indonesia sales executive Abdulrahman S. Lahmadi added that the carrier has prepared a range of attractive offers and special programs for travel agents. He said that Saudia Airlines' network is quite extensive, not only to Saudi Arabia but also to surrounding countries such as the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

"We incentivize Umrah travel agents, so the more pilgrims or passengers they send, the more they earn," Abdulrahman said.

Saudia Airlines has 120 destinations worldwide, which benefits Indonesian students, especially from North Sumatra and surrounding areas, studying in Egypt, for example. They can fly directly from Kualanamu Airport to Jeddah for transit and then on to Egypt, Morocco or Tunisia.

Sokhib Al Rokhman, head of Medan Region 2 Airport Authority, hopes the airline will do the same and bring Saudi citizens to Lake Toba to enjoy a variety of unique culinary and cultural diversity. He said he has asked Saudia Airlines to increase tourism and trade cooperation with provincial and district governments. 

In terms of logistics, Sokhib said there are an extraordinary number of packages from Saudi Arabia to Indonesia and vice versa. Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah, and Medina are cities where many Indonesians live.

"Foreign exchange transactions are quite good because there are a lot of remittances. I think what Saudi airlines need to develop is to focus not only on Umrah pilgrims but also on improving connectivity between the two countries, especially the Medan area," he said again.

Mei Leandha

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