was the only airline in the country until, when budget carriers Nas Air and Sama Airlines got their licenses from the government. Nas Air was founded in. Operations started in February that year. In late 2007, Nas Air firmed up an order for the acquisition of 20 aircraft of the Airbus A320 family. The company changed its name from Nasair to Flynas in.
and Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt became served by the carrier for the first time in 2009, with flights to the latter initially operated on a seasonal basis. In 2011, the airline started services to three cities in Turkey: Adana, Antakya and Istanbul. Also that year, Lahore in Pakistan became the second city served in the country, after Karachi. In, flights to Yanbu from Dammam were launched. Also that month, the airline started flying from Dammam to Khartoum, with the Sudanese capital becoming the first international destination ever to be linked to the Saudi city. In, Flynas introduced its Global Flight Routes program, aimed at offering affordable rates to passengers for flights between Jeddah and points in Africa, Asia and Europe, and at carrying religious tourists to Saudi Arabia. In, Flynas incorporated the of Airbus A330s the carrier would lease from Portugal Hi Fly. These aircraft, including both the –200 and the –300 models, would be used to start long-haul services. The airline also planned to add the Airbus A350 to its fleet. Flynas became the first low-cost carrier to serve the Saudi Arabia-UK market when it launched the Jeddah–London Gatwick service, its first European long-haul route, in. Medium-haul routes to Karachi and Lahore were also planned, along with long-haul services to Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Casablanca, Manchester and Islamabad. Flights to Iran were also due to commence by the same time. Manchester became the airline destination in the United Kingdom on. Cairo was made part of the route network in, making the Egyptian capital the carrier destination in the country. The London-Gatwick–Riyadh sector would also be served from 27 July the same year. A month later, it was informed that services to Manchester would be discontinued starting, just after months of operations. That month, the Indian market was expected to be served for the first time with flights to Hyderabad, followed by Calicut in. Plans were also to serve France next as well as China, Philippines, Nigeria and South Africa later on. Flynas also expected to serve the US market in. However, Manchester was removed from the carrier list of destinations in early, and in October the same year the airline announced the cancellation of most of its long- and mid-haul services owing to poor performance. In October 2014, Al-Qassim was incorporated to the route network., Flynas' three top domestic routes in terms of available seats were Jeddah –Riyadh, Dammam –RUH and JED–DMM. The carrier also performs Hajj services.
