Saudi carrier begins offering flights to Turkey’s Izmir

RIYADH

Saudi Airlines, the oil-rich kingdom’s national carrier, launched a new flight route to the Turkish city of Izmir on Wednesday.

Flights to Izmir, located on Turkey’s Aegean coast, will depart from Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport.

In a statement issued late Tuesday, the airliner said that four Jeddah-Izmir flights would begin operating on a weekly basis.

Saudi Airlines intends to eventually offer flights to Izmir every day of the week -- starting June 10 -- with the addition of three more flights out of Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport.

Izmir is the airliner’s third destination in Turkey after Istanbul and capital Anakra.

Reporting by Fares Karam:Writing by Mahmoud Barakat