Airports in Saudi Arabia witnessed a remarkable increase in the number of passengers in 2016, with 84 million passengers via 640,000 flights from the domestic and international airports, the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has announced. As many as 43 million passengers travelled on board 350,000 domestic flights while 41 million passengers travelled on 290,000 international flights from the Saudi airports, GACA said. The GACA has issued new licenses to several airlines operating domestic and international flights to keep up with the growth and increasing demand for air transportation in Saudi Arabia. The most prominent of these were issued to NESMA Airlines, operating from Hail Airport, and SaudiGulf, operating from the King Fahd International Airport in Dammam. The two airlines took to the skies during the fourth quarter of 2016. In 2016, Terminal 5 at King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh became operational. The terminal is dedicated to domestic flights and is designed to serve 12 million passengers per annum. Passengers are availing of the new services and technologies at the terminal, with enhanced services at many locations, such as the check-in counters, security checkpoints, waiting lounges at gates, and the baggage claim area. The GACA has also introduced axial airports to serve as hubs for inter-city passengers in Saudi Arabia. Such axial facilities are strategically located to reduce dependence on main airports. The GACA has designated Hail Airport as an axial airport for the northern region while Nesma Airlines has been chosen as the operator for daily flights between Hail Airport and several airports in the northern region. Meanwhile, Abha Airport has been chosen as an axial airport to serve the southern region. The airport is served by NAS which operates several flights between Abha Airport and airports in the southern region. Such axial airports have contributed to the increase in the number of flights, addressing the problem of seat shortage in this route. Consequently, the percentage of passengers on domestic flights has increased to 7.2% while the percentage of flights has increased to 12.7% as against the figure in 2015. The Saudi international airports – the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, the King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh, the King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, and the Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Airport in Madinah – handled the largest number of flights in 2016. About 70 million passengers flew on more than 525,000 flights operating from these international airports, an increase of 5.4% as against the figure in 2015. Tariq bin Othman Al-Abdul Jabbar, GACA Deputy President for Airports, confirmed that GACA was seeking to develop the airport networks to meet the high demand and the increased number of passengers at the various Saudi airports. Work is underway on an advanced network of airports offering modernized services, enhancing the status of the Kingdom as an influential player in the civil aviation industry, Al-Abdul Jabbar said. He added that these airports would have upgraded services for passengers, keeping abreast with the increased demand for air travel and achieving the aspirations of GACA in developing the civil aviation's infrastructure to come in line with the Saudi Vision 2030. Al-Abdul Jabbar noted that GACA was also aiming at increasing its contribution as a vital sector to the national economy. He pointed out that the increase in the number of air travel passengers during 2016 was commensurate with the improvement of the network of airports to keep up with the economic growth in Saudi Arabia. The GACA is currently implementing a number of new projects at various airports in the Kingdom. The Minister of Transport, who is also the Chairman of GACA Board of Directors, has approved the development of Phase 1 of the Abha Airport design. In addition, the Minister has approved the Arar Airport Development Project as well as the construction of a new airport in Taif, besides other projects at 27 airports nationwide.
