Saudi Arabia: open skies above a closed kingdom?

Since 25 December a number of news agencies including Reuters, Wall Street Journal and Arab News have reported that Prince Fahd bin Abdullah, the president of the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has invited "foreign" airline companies to apply to operate domestic flights within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. News agencies have suggested that this is because Saudia (the state subsidised international and domestic airline) is struggling to cope with the demand for domestic flights throughout the Kingdom. 


According to GACA, they will not dictate the airports out of which the chosen airline(s) will be able to operate. The chosen airline will also be able to operate international flights from the airport of its choice .


Both these points struck me as particularly interesting. GACA has invited "international" carriers to apply for a license to operate in Saudi Arabia, without specifying that these carriers originate from Muslim countries. To me this suggests that, theoretically, a national carrier from a non-Muslim country (such as BA, Air France/KLM) could apply for the contract and ask to run domestic flights throughout Saudi Arabia including in and out of Ta'if airport in Mecca, or even internationally from Medina International Airport. I cannot see this materialising, seeing as non-Muslims are forbidden from entering the two Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina (unless of course they are smuggled in by the House of Saud to bring an end to the 1979 Siege of Mecca...but let's not discuss this anymore here. The Siege of Mecca could constitute several blog posts in its own right.)


By not specifying that applicant airlines originate from Muslim countries, is the closed Kingdom of Saudi Arabia turning over a new leaf by opening its skies to the wider world? Are we about to witness a ground-breaking new approach from Saudi Arabia in the way it interacts globally?


I do not think I will be branded a cynic for answering "no" to both the above questions. I suspect that GACA, under Prince Fahd bin Abdullah already has a clear idea as to which airlines it would like to operate within its borders. I also expect these airlines to originate from nearby, Sunni-run states. 


It is rumoured that GACA will announce the chosen airline(s) towards the end of January 2012 so we will not have to wait too long to find out. 


I think GACA should have chosen its words of invitation a little more carefully - for a brief minute I got my hopes up that the skies were opening above the closed Kingdom. On closer inspection, I fear I may have been wrong.