Saudi budget airline Flynas will hire 300 Saudi female and male flight attendants within two years as the kingdom attempts to reduce unemployment among nationals and increase women’s access to the workforce.
The Riyadh-based carrier will also recruit 200 Saudi male and female co-pilots over the next five years, Flynas said in a statement on Thursday, when it began accepting applications for both positions. Currently only non-Saudi women are employed as cabin crew in the country.
“Flynas will consider the working hours and will allocate a uniform for Saudi female flight attendants in line with the Saudi customs and traditions,” it said.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is spearheading efforts to modernise the kingdom and transform the oil-reliant economy. This includes increasing the participation of women in the labour force to 30 per cent, from 22 per cent currently, by 2030.
In June, Saudi Arabia overturned a ban on female motorists. It is increasingly appointing women to traditionally male-dominated roles from banking to aviation. Earlier this summer, it announced a program to train women as air-traffic controllers for the first time to certify them for jobs in Riyadh and Jeddah.
