Riyadh, January 03, 2023, SPA -- flynas, the Saudi air carrier and the leading low-cost airline in the Middle East, doubled annual growth in operation and performance during 2022, with increasing passengers by 91% to 8.7 million; flights by 45% to 66,000 and seat capacity by 46%. Additionally, flynas launched 16 new destinations and 30 new routes as the fleet upscaled to 43 aircraft. “The growth rates recorded by flynas during 2022 in performance, operations, and localization programs reflect the company’s commitment to continuing expansion under the slogan ‘We Connect the World to the Kingdom’ and to consolidating its leading position as the best low-cost airline in the Middle East and one of the top 10 airlines in the world of its category,” said CEO and Managing Director of flynas Bander Almohanna. “The annual results confirm the progress in the company’s strategic plan with the receiving of 8 new Airbus A320neo and joining 2 Airbus A330 aircraft, which will contribute to serving pilgrims and Umrah performers as well as expanding to new markets. Moreover, the company's Board of Directors approved raising the booking orders of 250 aircraft, in line with the goals of the Saudi vision 2030, and the civil aviation strategy to reach 330 million passengers, 250 international destinations, and 100 million tourists annually,” he added. Almohanna stressed the company's commitment to the localization of jobs, qualifying young Saudi talent, and the empowerment of women in the aviation sector, as flynas launched the Future Engineers program in 2022 to localize the aircraft engineering and maintenance jobs, and to graduate and employ 150 engineers over the coming years. The program started with 30 Saudi engineers, while 100 Saudi first officer cadet pilots were accepted in the Future Pilots training program. Regarding cultural, sustainable initiatives that impact the community, flynas allocated one of its newest aircraft to be decorated with the visual identity of the Saudi Coffee 2022 initiative launched early in 2022 by the Ministry of Culture and supported by the life quality program -, one of the Saudi vision 2030 programs. Moreover, flynas sponsored two flights to coffee plantations in Al-Baha and Jazan to promote Saudi culture and tourist attractions along with developing opportunities in the provinces and celebrating the national identity with the support of the provinces' emirates. In terms of work environment, flynas has been recognized as one of the best four workplaces in the Kingdom for 2022, according to the annual survey by the global organization Best Places to Work (BPTW). The success of flynas was recognized with many international awards, including Skytrax International Award as the Best Low-cost Airline in the Middle East for the fifth year in a row. It is the highest award given in the aviation sector at the global level since its launch in 1999, and flynas was also ranked among the Skytrax top 10 low-cost airlines in the world. Meanwhile, flynas won the Best Low-cost Airline Award in the Middle East from the World Travel Awards in 2022 for the eighth year in a row. In an assessment by the non-profit organization APEX, one of the largest international airline associations, which included 600 airlines of various categories around the world, flynas came in the four-star category, which is the highest category for low-cost airlines in the world. --SPA 13:36 LOCAL TIME 10:36 GMT 0007 www.spa.gov.sa/w1835207