News

Private Jet Operator AirX Wins Saudi Aviation Clearance

The Malta-based aircraft charter company has formalized entry into the Kingdom as private jet traffic climbs.

Published

7 months ago

February 16, 2026

private jet operator airx wins saudi aviation clearance

Malta-headquartered private aviation operator AirX has secured approval from Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation, clearing the way to base and operate aircraft in the Kingdom.

The sign-off marks AirX’s formal expansion into Saudi Arabia after years of serving the market through international charters. With the license in hand, the company plans to increase aircraft availability locally and deepen relationships with corporate and government clients.

airx saudi arabia approval astrolabs

“Saudi Arabia represents one of the most strategic and dynamic aviation markets globally,” said Houssam Hazzoury, Group CEO of AirX. “With Vision 2030 driving unprecedented growth in tourism, investment, and international engagement, we see a clear opportunity to support the Kingdom’s premium private aviation sector with world-class long-range aircraft capability, safety standards, and service excellence”.

AirX operates a fleet of 20 aircraft, spanning heavy jets, Lineage models and widebody VIP configurations. The company is entering the Saudi market with support from AstroLabs, which advises foreign firms setting up in the Gulf.

The move lands as business aviation traffic accelerates across the Middle East. Saudi Arabia recorded 23,612 business jet flights in 2024, up 24 percent year on year. The rise tracks with Vision 2030’s push to attract global companies, investors and tourists, alongside major aviation infrastructure spending.

Relocation trends are also reshaping demand. Reports point to a 700 percent increase in millionaire relocations (a figure of 2,400) in 2025, adding fuel to premium charter activity. The Kingdom’s private aviation market is forecast to reach $2 billion by the end of the decade.

Also Read: Basatne Debuts ORBT Platform For Digital Refunds In UAE

For AirX, the GACA approval is operational, rather than simply symbolic. It allows aircraft to be positioned in-market rather than flown in ad hoc, tightening response times and expanding capacity across Riyadh, Jeddah and emerging hubs such as the NEOM project.

“AirX’s expansion comes at a pivotal time as Saudi Arabia consolidates its position as a global aviation and tourism hub,” said Fouad Fattal, Vice President, Commercial at AstroLabs.

As more multinationals anchor regional headquarters in Riyadh, competition among charter operators is set to intensify. AirX is betting that scale, long-range capability and early regulatory alignment will secure it a larger slice of the Kingdom’s fast-maturing private aviation segment.

Related Topics:AirX Aviation Saudi Arabia

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News

Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon

Foreign visitors will be the first users to benefit, but whether Syria’s own banks and cardholders follow is still an open question.

Published

1 week ago

August 27, 2026

Dana Saadeh

visa's return to syria starts with a test and a bank in lebanon

Visa is returning to Syria. Its first live international card transaction in the country was a test rather than a launch, and the milestone event ran through a Lebanese bank.

The acquirer (the bank on the merchant’s side of a card payment) was Fransabank Lebanon, with Paymera as the other named partner. Nadim Moujaes, who heads a Fransabank Group subsidiary, describes the test as both the culmination of “longstanding efforts to link Syria back to international payment networks” and “the first step in a larger path”.

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa makes the first electronic payment in Syria using a @Visa card at a store in Damascus, following the lifting of US sanctions on Syria. pic.twitter.com/lpAN7nQ6Fc

— Tech Magazine (@TechMGZN) August 27, 2026

“We are excited to have successfully tested live transactions today as we plan to enable international visitors to use their Visa cards while in Syria,” says Leila Serhan, Visa’s senior vice president and group country manager for the North Africa, Levant and Pakistan region. Although a significant first step, that plan doesn’t come with a hard date for when a visitor’s card will work normally.

Mohammed Safwat Raslan, governor of the Central Bank of Syria, says the test paves the way for international card acceptance in Syria and that maintaining strong compliance, risk management and operational controls will remain essential. Serhan likewise stresses that Visa has worked within applicable legal, regulatory and compliance requirements. For a test transaction, it seems there was a great deal of attention paid to the rules, with the entire operation being carefully managed.

Also Read: Lebanon’s 5G Era Begins With 150 Stations And A $1M Budget

The test is the latest step in a sequence that began in December 2025, when Visa announced a strategic roadmap to support Syria’s integration into the global digital economy. In February 2026 it hosted its first industry gathering of banks, ecosystem partners and policymakers in Damascus and, the same month, signed an agreement with Syria’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in San Francisco.

Michel Kattouah, Paymera’s CEO, called the test “the return of international card acceptance,” but while that’s positive news, there’s no word yet on when a Syrian bank will issue a Visa card to a Syrian customer.