NEOM Airlines (NEOM Bay) may be on hold as Saudi Arabia intends to allocate 20% less than its targeted budget this year to the urban development start-up based at NEOM Bay by the Red Sea. Bloomberg reported that the decision aligns with billions of dollars of cuts on some of the kingdom's biggest development projects.

A government committee led by the country's de facto ruler, Mohammed Bin Salman, is nearing completion of a comprehensive review of these mega projects, including the futuristic NEOM Bay desert development, Bloomberg reported citing sources familiar with the matter who requested anonymity.

NEOM Airlines was slated to commence operations in late 2024 or the first quarter of 2025 as Saudi Arabia's third state-owned airline, primarily targeting the NEOM Bay development. It planned to serve key global and regional gateways in collaboration with NEOM stakeholders and to complement rather than compete with fellow state-owned carriers Saudia (SV, Jeddah International) and Riyadh Air (RXI, Riyadh).

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