With a population of more than 30 million and several major urban centres, Saudi Arabia is a significant aviation market in the Gulf region.
The European Commission requested the Council to authorise the negotiation an EU-level aviation agreement with Saudi Arabia as proposed in the ambitious external aviation policy put forward with the 2015 Aviation Strategy for Europe.
In 2010, the EU and Saudi Arabia initialled a horizontal agreement. This agreement once signed and in force, would restore the legal certainty of all bilateral air transport agreements between EU Member States and Saudi Arabia and mark the next step change in further enhancing EU-Saudi Arabia aviation relations.
Saudi Arabia, a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), also participates in the EU-GCC aviation dialogue which was launched in 2013.
For further information and figures on EU-Saudi Arabia aviation relations and EU aviation in general, please consult the Atlas of the Sky.