The Bond with Saudia
Saudia Airlines started its journey in 1945, and the first
plane was gifted to King Abdul Aziz. The plane DC-3 was gifted by the 32nd
US President Franklin Roosevelt to King Abdul Aziz in 1945. The President was
returning from the Yalta Conference and on his way back met with regional
leaders of the Middle East. The journey of Saudia began in 1946, initially set
up as “an operating agency of the Ministry of Defense”.
Saudia’s first airport was at Kandhara. The founding of SAUDI was announced in
September 1946 and its emblem was adopted. The emblem (logo) showed its
affiliation with the Ministry of Defense. The first flight of Saudi Arabian
Airlines (SDI) began on October 28th, 1946 took off to Lad airport, Palestine
to pick up pilgrims from the Lebanese capital Beirut. It was a matter of
astonishment as where journey took about 60 days and was shortened to several
hours.
Saudi Arabian Airlines became an independent company in 1963
after papers were signed by King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz. After nearly a decade
Saudi Arabian Airlines was renamed to Saudia.
(1972). I always used to wonder as a
kid why the two names. To many from Middle Eastern and Asian companies, Saudia
is not just an airline but an emotional
bond that exists. I was surprised to
see the same statement from the Director General of Saudia.
“The name and logo of Saudia
are integral parts of the Kingdom's aviation history and development, and our
people share a special emotional connection with the brand. We have
incorporated this rich heritage into our new identity, adding elements that
reflect our visionary approach, poised to captivate the world."
-Ibrahim Omar, Director General, Saudia.
The first time I came across Saudia was in the 1980s. That
was one of the coolest times to be in Saudi Arabia. The King Abdul Aziz Airport
opened in 1981 and had an attractive look at that time. I was in grade 2 after
the school holidays I went to visit the ‘New Airport” with my dad. It was a
feeling of happiness as I climbed up walking. The Design was captivating as
well was my 1st introduction to an automated lift or escalator.
After a month or so, our family
would go to the Airport (KAIA) to use its services. We would travel by
Saudia Airlines to meet our family in Dhaka. The excitement, and happiness that
was felt could not be described in words. Whenever we thought of KAIA it was
because we were leaving for our home country.
Brief history of Saudia
The attraction of Saudia was not just the Airport and
airlines but also Saudia city.
Saudia City
Saudia City was
built originally for the employees of Saudi Arabia Airlines. The scenery and ambiance
were totally different from those outside the compound. It has about 3000 units
with 10,000-12,000 residents living there. Outsiders had to show iqamas plus
know a friend in Saudia City to enter. The compound was so beautiful and we are
talking about it in the 1980s. Most of the Residents were from America, the UK,
and Europe with some from the Indian subcontinent and Middle East. The
facilities in the compound were as follows:
·
Supermarket
·
Several
cafes restaurants
·
Children’s
playgrounds
·
7
recreational centers (one for women only) with swimming pools
·
Gym
·
Football
pitch
·
Tennis
courts
·
Large
central green park
·
Cinema
·
Gas
station
·
Mosque
·
Water
treatment system
·
Car
fix center
·
Pharmacy
·
Show
stage
·
2
kindergartens
·
Daycare
·
10
Tv channels.(whilst in 80’s rest of Saudi Arabia had two channels at max.).
It was a secure life with diverse friends and women would be dressed in regular
clothes without the need of a veil.
Nowadays (2023) it might not appear so special but in the 1980s, the compound
was spectacular in Jeddah. So many people can relate to the Saudia City compound
as they grew up there. At that time there was no internet, and kids did was
play extracurricular activities like playing football, basketball, and going
cycling. The bond between those who lived in Saudia City was special and much stronger
as opposed to others who lived outside the compound. I remember visiting in
1985 and was surprised to play football in the evening since there was
floodlights.
One resident (past) puts it:
I lived in
Saudi City from 1988-to 2005 and my father worked for Saudi Airlines for the
Saudi Royal hanger as an inspection engineer and went to school at the Pakistan
Embassy school aziziyah had a lot of friends most of them Pakistani and Indian
yes sir those were the golden days which will never come back again and also whenever
i pass by that compound tears come in my eyes and with lots of memories like
and if i get an opportunity get a job in Saudi Airlines I will live in the same
villa were i grew up in which NE area.
-Tariq Durrani, hybidcamel.com.
__
Saudia tragedies
Like other airlines tragedies did strike Saudia. The most
famous being Saudia Flight 163 where
the airplane landed but caught fire. They could not be evacuated. All passengers
died in the accident. May Almighty have mercy on them. This happened on 19th
August, 1980. A very sad incident which I am not going to discuss here as it
really pains me. (A family friend’s brother died in this accident).
YouTube link:
A remake of the incident.
Documentary link.
Website link.
Website 2 link.
Ahlan Wasahlan
magazine
Memories'!
Buy at Ebay. 1982 Edition. For some people the cover itself brings back memories.
It was an inflight magazine and we passengers looked forward
to the complimentary inflight magazine though it got boring sometimes as not
very good writers wrote there. Saudia could think of writing interesting stories
by good content writers. These inflight magazines are sold now in eBay. It had stories of
various destinations in Saudia Arabia and other countries and was interesting to
read.
Saudia Toys
Saudia sold replicas which would be purchased from the flight
or their stores in the Airport.
Link.
So many memories that come with Saudia and the Director General Ibrahim Omar
rightly pointed out, as mentioned above.
Conclusion:
These memories inspired us to make the following pages and groups:
·
GUME-for those who grew up in 80s...in Saudia Arabia.
Join.
· Same expats for people who worked in Saudi Arabia or Middle Eastern Countries during the 1970s-2000. It does not matter where you live now, just like our page and join the
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