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Australia could see direct cargo flights to Saudi Arabia “within weeks”, according to reporting from The Australian Financial Review.
The Australia Saudi Business Council has signed a memorandum of understanding to potentially bring Saudia Cargo freight operations to Toowoomba Wellcamp and Avalon Airports, with new airline Riyadh Air also potentially on the cards for premium passenger services, the AFR reports.
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“The Australia Saudi Logistics Alliance (ASL Alliance), an initiative of the Australia Saudi Business Council and Forum, continues to build momentum towards establishing a direct trade and logistics corridor between Australia and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the group said on social media.
“These partnerships form part of a broader national strategy to strengthen freight connectivity, improve supply chains, create new opportunities for exporters, and support long-term economic growth between our two nations. The future of Australia-Saudi trade is being built today.”
Speaking to the AFR, Sam Jamsheedi, chair of the Australia Saudi Business Council, said the cargo services could help relieve pressure for meat exporters from the impact of the Iran war.
“One of the biggest issues that the [Gulf Co-operation Council] is facing is that their airspace is closed and the products that are usually getting into the region through the traditional hubs like Emirates’ hub in Dubai or Qatar Airways’ [hub] in Doha have been struggling over the last three months with the war,” he said.
“Every country should have the opportunity to have direct connectivity with Australia.
“Instead of having the meat land somewhere else and then get on another flight to land in Saudi Arabia, they want to have a direct freight just for themselves, so within 14 hours, the Australian product, the fresh meat that was cut in the abattoir, can land there.”
Both Toowoomba Wellcamp and Avalon are well suited for these cargo operations, their respective owners told the AFR.
Wagner Corporation chair John Wagner said Wellcamp is within 90 minutes of Australia’s five largest abattoirs, is curfew-free, can turn around a cargo jet in an hour and a half, and has 4,000 metres of cold storage and 315 clear days per year.
Avalon Airport CEO Ari Suss, meanwhile, pointed to the new $8 million, 24-hour freight processing facility opened last year.
“Historically we’ve had around 60 to 70 aircraft movements a year in freight, and we really want to build that up significantly and to see a tenfold increase in freight out of Avalon as a result of this new cargo terminal being in place,” he told the masthead.
“We’re giving industry the opportunity here to find a faster, less congested gateway in and out of Australia, and certainly we think the timing’s right.”
The deal follows a trip by Trade Minister Don Farrell to Riyadh in January.
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