Saudi Arabian aviation regulator unveiled plans to award new airline licenses in September. Khalid Al-Khaibary, spokesman for General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA), said the aviation authority will grant airline licenses for the right to operate both local and international flights. 14 companies applied for the licenses and the government had yet to decide on how many carriers it would authorize, he added. National carrier Saudi Airlines (Saudia) and budget airline National Air Services (NAS) now serve a domestic market of around 27 million people. Private airlines like Sama Airlines struggled with their profit margins, due to the price ceiling on domestic flights. In 2010 Sama ceased operations.
