The launch date for the domestic and regional flights of SaudiGulf Air and Al-Maha Airways remains delayed as the kingdom’s aviation regulator has yet to release their much-awaited operating licence.

It will be the third year since both airlines began the technical and safety compliance process required by the General Authority of Civil Aviation (Gaca) in order to release their airline operator certificate (AOC) and ultimately begin operating flights from and into the kingdom.

SaudiGulf Air received its first Airbus A320 in November 2015, while Al-Maha Airways is now flying the A320s it received in early 2015 between Doha and Dubai while awaiting Gaca’s final approval.

The authority has not specified a date for the release of the two airlines’ AOCs, although both carriers had expected to launch flights in the last quarter of 2015. The regulator has cited that the delay is due to technical factors.

Samer Majali, CEO of SaudiGulf Air, told local media the delay could be due in part to its decision to introduce new planes with “very, very high specifications”.

The eventual launch of the two new airlines will open up the local air travel market to competition. State-backed Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) still dominates the kingdom’s aviation market despite the presence of Flynas, the kingdom’s first low-cost and privately-owned airline.

Flynas is one of two airlines granted a licence to operate in Saudi Arabia in 2007, when the kingdom launched its initial programme to deregulate its aviation sector. Flynas has said it is on track to deliver profits for the first time in 2015, eight years since its launch. The other airline that received a licence in 2007, Sama Airlines, stopped operating in 2010.