Kuwait, like many countries, has a national airline. Kuwait Airways is headquartered in the most populous governorate in the country: Al Farwaniyah. The area is home to the Kuwait International Airport from which the airline operates most of its business.

From the main base at Kuwait International Airport, the airline operates international services to areas throughout the Middle East, as well as to Europe, North America, Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. As a key member of the Arab Air Carriers Organisation, the airline enjoys all the privileges and benefits that are entailed by membership to the organisation.

Kuwait Airways was formally established in 1954 at a time when Kuwait was enjoying a period of prosperity and rapid economical growth. To begin with, the company operated flights to a small yet successful network of destinations that comprised of Beirut, Damascus, Abadan and Jerusalem. Shortly after its inception however, the company took something of a downturn in its second year and was faced with financial difficulties.

The Kuwait government then provided a bailout and invested in a 50% interest in the company and its affairs. This effectively culminated in an increase in capital, doubling the airline’s original available money. Not too far into the future, the government then organised a buy out and increased the amount of shares in the airline that it owned to a full 100%.

In 1962, the airline kept up with the technological advances of the time by leasing the very first jet engine powered airline that the world had ever seen: the Comet 4-C. As the country’s national airline, the company then made a decided effort to utilise its advanced aircraft to expand its route map at a rapid rate. During the sixties therefore, the airline began to operate a scheduled international service to London which operated three times every week. Throughout the decade, the airline continued to grow and purchased three Boeing 707s in 1968 in order to keep up with the ever-growing demands of the aeronautical tourist industry. This trend continued over the next ten years until in 1978, the company had an impressive fleet which consisted entirely of Boeing 707 jet planes.
Unfortunately, during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, much of the airline’s capital was destroyed, including the Kuwait International Airport. Since then, Kuwait Airways has regathered and is once again aspiring to offer international flights for travellers to over forty destinations across the globe.