Saudia has wanted to ‘Saudi-ize’ their airline for a long time, this process has accelerated over the last several years. Many expatriate pilots who had been with them for some time have found themselves suddenly on the street, without recourse to the usual protections and benefits we so blithely take for granted here in the ‘real’ world.
That they are now having difficulty obtaining training in the US is understandable, given the present security considerations and the nationalities of the majority of the hijackers. I see them at Kennedy all the time, it’s a jaw-gaping politico tap-dancing wonder they are allowed to fly their aircraft onto American soil at all.
I find the suggestion that Saudia is being ‘attacked’ as preposterous as it is myopic.