For the first time direct flights between Australia and both the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Sultanate of Oman are now possible following the signing of two historic Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs), opening up new marketing opportunities for our tourism industry.

With these MoUs now in place, officials from the Australian Government will continue working with their Saudi and Omani counterparts on finalising permanent air service agreements between our countries.

Australia-Oman MoU:

The MoU permits Omani carriers to operate up to four direct flights a week into and out of Australia’s major ‘gateway’ airports (Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane) as well as up to seven additional weekly services for flights which make a stopover enroute at a regional airport such as Cairns, Darwin or the Gold Coast.

They also have unlimited access to any regional Australian international airport.

Australian carriers can now provide up to four weekly flights into and out of Muscat, Salalah or any other Omani city when operating from Australia’s major ‘gateway’ airports, and also enjoy unlimited access to Oman when flying from an Australian regional international airport.

Australia-Saudi Arabia MoU:

The MoU allows Saudi carriers to operate up to four direct services a week into and out of Australia’s major ‘gateway’ airports, as well as up to seven additional flights when operated via a regional international airport. In addition, they can operate unlimited services into and out of any of Australia’s regional international airports.

Australian carriers can now operate up to six weekly flights into and out of Jeddah and Riyadh, and unlimited services into and out of Dammam.

Both MoUs also include flexible code sharing arrangements.

The new MOUs further the Gillard Labor Government’s efforts, as outlined in our Aviation White Paper, to lift the contribution aviation makes to building an even stronger Australian economy.