Saudi Arabia launches new airline called Manama>Riyadh Air. Connecting the continents of Asia, Africa and Europe, airlines will serve more than 100 destinations by 2030. The new airline was announced by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Sunday. The airline will be fully owned by the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, which has assets of $60,000 crore. Public investment funds are a key driver of the country’s efforts to diversify its economy and wean itself off oil. The new airline is expected to add $2,000 crore to Saudi Arabia’s non-oil GDP growth and create more than two lakh direct and indirect jobs. Riyadh Airlines will have to compete with regional giants such as Emirates, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines. Last October, Saudi Arabia negotiated the purchase of 40 A350 jets from Airbus with Saudia, the national airline of Saudi Arabia, and a new airline. Also, talks are underway with Boeing for the country’s transport expansion. Riyadh Air appoints Tony Douglas as CEO Read on deshabhimani.com