Flynas enters Saudi government ERCAB travel network

Saudi Arabia’s Government Expenditure and Projects Efficiency Authority has activated flynas under the unified framework agreement for government ERCAB travel, widening the airline choices available to public-sector entities and eligible travellers.

The activation lifts the number of airlines participating in the government travel arrangement to four, with flynas joining Saudia, flyadeal and Riyadh Air. EXPRO said the addition is intended to improve flexibility, strengthen competition among national carriers and give government users access to a broader range of routes, schedules and service options.

Government ERCAB services are delivered through the Etimad platform, which is being developed to handle the travel process electronically from the creation of a travel request through booking and ticket issuance. EXPRO has said the digital approach is designed to improve operational efficiency and simplify the experience for government entities and beneficiaries using the system.

Flynas had disclosed on August 10 that it had signed a unified framework agreement with EXPRO covering passenger travel services for government entities. At that stage, the airline said technical collaboration and system integration were still being completed before services could begin. The carrier expected the financial effect of the agreement to start in the fourth quarter of 2026.

A subsequent disclosure to the Saudi Exchange clarified that the agreement was signed on July 23 and would remain in force for nine months and 21 days from that date. Flynas said the clarification did not change the financial impact previously announced.

The agreement carries no fixed contract value. Payments are to be made against individual purchase orders issued under the framework and according to the prices specified in the agreement, according to flynas’s stock-market disclosure. The company also said there were no related parties to the transaction.

EXPRO’s activation of flynas follows the addition of Riyadh Air to the same government travel framework. The authority said earlier that Riyadh Air’s participation would increase seat capacity and provide a wider network of destinations and flight timings for government travellers. At the time, EXPRO also stated that flynas had signed its agreement and that activation would be announced after the necessary arrangements were completed.

The latest step therefore marks the completion of that implementation process for flynas and makes the airline available within the government travel system rather than merely contracted to join it.

EXPRO uses unified procurement framework agreements as a contracting mechanism on behalf of government entities under Saudi Arabia’s Government Tenders and Procurement Law. The authority describes the system as a way to obtain better value for public money, reduce the time required for procurement, standardise prices and specifications, and improve the quality of goods and services purchased by government bodies.

For government travel, the model also gives participating entities access to multiple carriers under a single framework instead of relying on separate procurement arrangements for each airline. EXPRO has said it plans to continue diversifying suppliers and adding carriers where this can improve the efficiency and responsiveness of government travel services.

Flynas is a listed Saudi low-cost carrier operating domestic and international services. The airline said in August that joining the government travel framework was the first agreement of this type in its history and would extend its passenger business into the government travel segment.

The carrier operates from Saudi Arabia across a network of domestic and overseas destinations and has been expanding capacity as competition in the kingdom’s aviation market increases. Its inclusion gives government users access to a low-cost operator alongside the other participating national carriers.

The activation also places flynas within a government booking environment that is being increasingly automated through Etimad. EXPRO has said the platform is intended to link travel requests, approvals, booking and electronic ticketing in a more integrated process.