RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s low-cost airline has recorded an accelerated growth of 120 percent in the number of passengers during the first half of 2022. The number of passengers has increased to around 4 million during the first half of 2022, up from 1.8 million during the same period last year, according to a statement. As part of plans to expand its fleet, flynas has increased the number of aircraft to 38 in June 2022 compared to 26 in January 2021, recording a 46 percent growth. The number of flights operated by flynas increased by 57 percent compared to the corresponding period in 2021. The first sixth months of 2022 have also witnessed the launch of 16 international destinations from Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Qassim. "The growth rates witnessed by flynas in all its operations are a result of the strategic expansion plan that we launched at the beginning of 2022 under the slogan, ‘connecting the world to the Kingdom,’” CEO, Bander Abdulrahman Al-Mohanna, said. He added that the company has signed an agreement this year with the aircraft leasing firm AviLease, a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, in an effort to expand operations and continue launching new destinations. Under the deal, AviLease will purchase 12 new Airbus A320 neo aircraft, to be delivered in 2022 and 2023, and lease them to the airline.