Smart cards to pass through passport control have been launched at two major airports in the Kingdom and will soon be available for citizens and expatriate travelers at the other airports in the country. This was the announcement made by Lt. Gen. Salim Muhammad Al-Blaihid, Director General of the Passports Department, at a press conference here on Wednesday. Al-Blaihid said the computerized cards would be free of charge. They can currently be used at five gates at King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh and four gates at King Fahd Airport in Dammam. The Director General of the Passports Department said the next stage would be to make the cards available at King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah. It will then be implemented at all the other airports in the Kingdom. There will be no registration forms needed for users of the cards and they can only be used at the airports. The cards will be granted to all citizens and expatriates. No one will be excluded from this project, only those who have committed some security offenses, said Al-Blaihid. He said the cards will be made available at airports and various markets. Al-Blaihid disclosed that training courses are being held for the staff of the Directorate General of the Passports Department to deal with the public. __
