Saudi Arabian Airlines (also known as Saudia) is Saudi Arabia's domestic and international airline, and one of the largest airlines of the Middle East.Saudi Arabian Airlines began when, in 1945, President Roosevelt presented King Abdul Aziz with a Douglas DC-3 after their meeting at the Suez Canal. This DC-3 was used to carry passengers and cargo.
In 1946, Saudi Arabian Airlines was established. It was considered an operating agency of the Ministry of Defense. That same year, their first airport was established in Kandara, near what now is known as Jeddah.During the rest of the 1940s Saudi Arabian expanded, serving new cities (Cairo, Damascus and Beirut), providing a Haj Pilgrimage service flown from Lydda in British Palestine, and purchasing two more DC-3s. Saudi Arabian also received substantial logistical and mechanical help from American airline TWA, and in 1949, the first of five Bristol 170s was received. These planes allowed Saudi Arabian to carry both passenger and cargo on the same flights.