Saudi eyes electric jets to reach Makkah, new resorts

Saudi Arabia's flag carrier is turning to a cash-strapped German firm for electric jets to service routes to new luxury resorts and the holy city of Makkah, an official said.

The aircraft from Munich-based Lilium will provide direct links to hard-to-reach routes along the Red Sea coast and ferry Muslim pilgrims directly from Jeddah to Makkah, which does not have an airport, Saudia communications affairs manager Razan Shaker said.

"Our strategy is that it will help in bridging the locations and the cities that don't have an airport or that are maybe hard to go to," she told AFP on the sidelines of a logistics forum in Riyadh.

The plans include flying pilgrims to the iconic Fairmont Makkah Clock Royal Tower hotel, near Makkah's Grand Mosque, where "we're working on creating a helipad", she said.

In July, Saudia announced it was buying 50 Lilium electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) jets with options to purchase 50 more.

The airline is expected to start taking delivery of the Lilium jets, which seat four to six passengers and fly up to 175km, in 2026.

The Saudia order was "the largest reported firm order of eVTOL aircraft by an airline that plans to operate the aircraft", a statement said at the time, adding that it "signals a substantial commitment to electric aviation".

Neither Saudia nor Lilium have disclosed the value of the deal but Daniel Wiegand, Lilium's chief engineer for innovation, told AFP the aircraft typically goes for between $7 million and $9 million.

A filing last month by Lilium to the US Securities and Exchange Commission said the firm "requires additional capital immediately to continue to fund its ongoing operations" and that its "ability to continue as a going concern is highly dependent on our ability to obtain" a German government loan.

Lilium was also pursuing financing from private investors, Wiegand said, noting it was "no secret...that we are currently raising money".

Saudi Arabia aims to more than triple annual aviation traffic to 330 million passengers by the end of the decade as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's "Vision 2030" reform agenda to remake the petroleum-centred economy.

Transport Minister Saleh Al Jasser told AFP a planned new airport in Riyadh capable of accommodating 120 million passengers a year was "at the core of the aviation strategy", and officials have talked about a "massive expansion" of the Jeddah airport as well.

The ambitious plans have further stoked scepticism of Saudi Arabia's climate pledges which include achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2060.