{"id":27562,"date":"2025-05-13T09:38:43","date_gmt":"2025-05-13T13:38:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/?p=27562"},"modified":"2025-05-13T09:40:39","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T13:40:39","slug":"saudi-arabia-lifts-cabotage-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/saudi-arabia-lifts-cabotage-ban\/","title":{"rendered":"Saudi Arabia Lifts Cabotage Ban"},"content":{"rendered":"<h6><strong>Key Points<\/strong><\/h6>\n<ul>\n<li data-start=\"276\" data-end=\"486\"><strong>Starting May 1, Saudi Arabia has removed its cabotage limits, which means foreign charter flights can now operate domestic sectors within the country &#8211; repositioning without passengers and quick drop-offs are no longer the only option.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li data-start=\"488\" data-end=\"691\"><strong>To gain approval, operators need to complete three steps: register with MISA, apply to GACA with a business plan, and comply with GACAR Part 129 requirements including safety and sustainability documentation.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h6><strong>Here\u2019s what you need to do:<\/strong><\/h6>\n<h4>Step 1: Register with MISA<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before anything else, you need to register with <a href=\"https:\/\/misa.gov.sa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MISA<\/a> (Saudi Arabia\u2019s Ministry of Investment). They handle investment licensing, which is the starting point for getting your charter approval. If you hit any snags here, you can reach them at <a href=\"mailto:logistics@misa.gov.sa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">logistics@misa.gov.sa<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>Step 2: Apply to GACA<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Next, you\u2019ll submit an official letter to the President of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) at <a href=\"mailto:generalaviation@gaca.gov.sa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">generalaviation@gaca.gov.sa<\/a>. This letter should:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Request approval for domestic charter operations<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Include your business plan (<a href=\"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Removal-of-Domestic-Cabotage-in-Private-Aviation-Business-Plan.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">GACA has provided a template<\/a>)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Optionally include any extra economic details you want to share<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Step 3: Meet the regulatory requirements<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019ll need to comply with GACAR Part 129 &#8211; basically, Saudi\u2019s rules for foreign air carriers. Part of this includes submitting a <a href=\"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Safety-Form.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Safety and Environmental Sustainability Sector form<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<h6><strong>What does this change mean?<\/strong><\/h6>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For international operators, it\u2019s a big deal. You can now:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Pick up and drop off passengers on domestic segments<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Reposition flights domestically without worrying about cabotage violations<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Offer more flexible services to clients operating inside Saudi Arabia<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This change is part of Saudi\u2019s big push to grow its general aviation sector into a $2 billion industry by 2030, creating thousands of jobs and expanding the private aviation market. GACA says they\u2019ve already received plenty of interest from international and regional operators, so expect some competition.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-27578\" src=\"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Saudi-Airports-1024x692.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"692\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Saudi-Airports-1024x692.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Saudi-Airports-300x203.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Saudi-Airports-768x519.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Saudi-Airports-1536x1039.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Saudi-Airports-2048x1385.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Saudi-Airports-400x269.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<h6><strong>Where to get help<\/strong><\/h6>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you need help or have questions, GACA and MISA have both provided contact points:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MISA: <a href=\"mailto:logistics@misa.gov.sa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">logistics@misa.gov.sa<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GACA: <a href=\"mailto:generalaviation@gaca.gov.sa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">generalaviation@gaca.gov.sa<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Points Starting May 1, Saudi Arabia has removed its cabotage limits, which means foreign&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":27578,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[336],"class_list":{"0":"post-27562","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-briefings","8":"tag-saudi-arabia"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27562"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27562\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27581,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27562\/revisions\/27581"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}