Qa'dah 03, 1431, Oct 11, SPA -- The UK's bmi airline will operate 22 special chartered flights from the UK for Hajj pilgrims this year, said the airline's CEO Joerg Hennemann at a press conference on Sunday to mark the airline's fifth anniversary in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. “We hope to provide special services to pilgrims who fly bmi,” Hennemann said, adding that Hajj pilgrims will be given a wide choice of menu on board which they can book in advance. In September 2005, bmi became the only British airline to offer a direct link between the UK and Saudi Arabia with three weekly flights between London Heathrow and Riyadh. Following the overwhelming success of the route, services between London Heathrow and Jeddah were inaugurated in May 2006, followed by London Heathrow-Dammam services in March 2008. The airline now operates daily to Riyadh and three flights a week to both Jeddah and Dammam. Since the launch of its services in September 2005, over 400,000 customers have enjoyed bmi's popular service in the Kingdom. “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Great Britain have close trading relationships and I am very proud that we have served the Kingdom's major centers of trade and industry with our unique and stylish service for five years. This is a great milestone for us,” Hennemann. “I thank the Kingdom for its continued support of our routes. We look forward to many more successful years of flights to Saudi Arabia and serving the traveling needs of Britons and Saudis.” He said that the airline's tie up with Lufthansa would be to the benefit of bmi passengers. “Arrangements are being made to fly Lufthansa on bmi tickets when bmi flights are not available for some destinations,” he was quoted as saying by the Jeddah-based Arab News.
