Review of flyNas flight from Jeddah to Asmara in Economy

I went to the Horn of Africa in December 2024 to some of the least visited places on Earth: Socotra, Somaliland, Djibouti and Eritrea.

Here’s my full itinerary:

Keflavík to London Luton, Easyjet
London Gatwick to Dubai, Emirates, economy class
Abu Dhabi to Socotra, Air Arabia
Socotra to Abu Dhabi, Air Arabia
Dubai to Hargeisa, FlyDubai, business class
Hargeisa to Addis, Ethiopian, economy class
Addis to Djibouti, Ethiopian, economy class
Djibouti to Addis, Ethiopian, economy class
Addis to Jeddah, Saudia, economy class
Jeddah to Asmara, Flynas, economy class
Asmara to Dubai, FlyDubai, business class
Dubai to Frankfurt, Emirates, business class

I wanted to get from Djibouti to Asmara in Eritrea. The distance between the two cities is only 619 km.
If there were a direct flight it would take one hour. But there are no direct flights, and since Eritrea no longer allows anymore Ethiopian Airlines to fly there, and there are very few other options, I had to take three flights and fly for four hours: Djibouti to Addis on Ethiopian, Addis to Jeddah on Saudia and Jeddah to Asmara on Flynas.

Only a few airlines fly to Asmara, Eritrea, and only a few times a week: FlyDubai 7 times a week from Dubai, Egyptair 4 times a week from Cairo, Flynas 3 times a week from Jeddah, Turkish Airlines 3 times a week from Istanbul and Tarco Aviation 2 times a week from Port Sudan. That's not a lot flights for a country with a population of 3.8 millions.

Flynas was one of the first low-cost airlines in Saudi Arabia. It was founded in 2007. It has a current fleet of 53 A320neos, 4 A320ceos and 4 A330-300s, and it has ordered a further 130 A320s and 30 A330s. It has around 1500 flights a week to 38 destinations. As for other low-cost airlines its cheapest fares do not include check-in luggage, and on-board catering is at an extra charge.

I took an Uber from my hotel in Jeddah to the airport in a comfortable car for only SAR 55 (€13).

Entrance for FlyNas is at Entrance D at Jeddah Airport Terminal 1.

The terminal is really nice.

The airport is very busy with an average of over 800 departures per day.

I had tried to check in on-line but it didn't work. I also tried to select a seat (for a fee) and order a meal but it also didn't work.

There was an extremely long line for check-in at the airport, and all passengers had a lot of luggage. There was a large group of elderly Turkish pilgrims, each of them with an average of six to eight pieces of luggage. I had to jump the queue, otherwise I would have missed the flight.

Aside the long lines at check-in, the airport was efficient. I was through passport control and security in a few minutes, then I took the train to the gates. This part of the airport is also quite nice.

It was time to look for breakfast. No, not here.

This is better.

I had a pain au chocolat and a coffee.

I didn't have much time. I had to rush to gate 43A for boarding which was by bus.

The bus took us completely to the other side of the airport.

Here's our plane, a Flynas A320 neo, registration number HZ-NS84, built in 2024 so brand new.

Boarding the plane was slow and there were no crew members at the door. When I saw them later they were not particularly friendly.

The plane had a 3+3 configuration all over the cabin, although there was a divider behind row 1 as premium class. The cabin looked nice and was in good condition, I thought first, but then I noticed that my seat reclined without pushing the button.

Seat 8C.

Legroom was good.

An expected flight time of one hour and ten minutes was announced.

Seat 8B was my allocated seat, but the flight wasn't full so I could move to seat 8C.

Push-back was at 08.15 for a scheduled departure time of 07.55. We took off at 08.37.

Select your seat on-line? Pre-ordee your meal on-line? I tried but it didn't work. Maybe because I had originally booked in Amadeus and not directly on the airline's website.

There's a buy-on-board menu.

Hot snacks.

Sandwiches.

I bought a Mirinda Citrus and a chicken noodle soup.

The rest of the flight went uneventful.

We landed in Asmara at 09.42 and were at our final parking position at 09.47 for a scheduled arrival time of 09.20.

Although I had my visa approved, and there were not many passengers getting a visa on arrival, it took 30 minutes to get the visa and another 10 minutes to get it stamped.

Here's the airport from the outside.

Asmara, the capital city of Eritrea, located at an altitude of 2,325 meters above sea level, has a perfect climate: it's dry and sunny with an average daytime temperature of 22 °C, and it's pleasantly cool at night. It's most remarkable feature is its exceptionally untouched Art Deco architecture from the 1930s. There's also a fantastic café culture.

There are very few cars, and the social differences are smaller than anywhere else in Africa. Asmara is possibly the safest capital city on the continent, and also one of the cleanest. Life is slow here and there's a pleasant small town feeling. Asmara is one of the least visited cities in Africa, but also one the most fascinating.

The Cinema Impero.

The former Cinema Roma is now a café with an interesting interior.

The Central Post Office.

A typical street in Asmara.

The Asmara Catholic Cathedral.

The Orthodox Church.

Administration of Maekel Region.

There are very few cars but there are a lot of taxis.

The entrance of the recycling market.

A market in Asmara

There are beautiful mountains right outside of Asmara.