expanding aviation sector in the Kingdom will offer 8000 jobs to young Saudis every year, a senior official here said. Mohammed Al Zeer, Chairman of Maz Aviation, said the Kingdom has already invested over SR200 billion on the development of the aviation sector, which has expanded greatly after the deregulation process was put in place. Al Zeer was speaking at the two-day First Kingdom's Airports Aviation and Logistic Conference and Exhibition which was inaugurated by Khaled Almolhem, Director General of Saudi Arabian Airlines, here Tuesday. Acknowledging that the Kingdom had been slow in developing the aviation sector, Almolhem, however, said the sector was making rapid advancements now. “The Jeddah airport is proof of the fast growth the sector has witnessed in recent times,” he said. Talking about local traffic, Almolhem said about 13 million passengers are now traveling by air each year necessitating an increase in the number of local flights. Replying to a Saudi Gazette question about inordinate domestic flight delays and an insufficient number of flights, Almolhem said the increase in traffic requires an additional air fleet which necessitates financing and research. “The airline (Saudia) does not have the capacity to expand now. The other option is to use planes earmarked for international services, but then that sector would face a shortage,” he said. So far, Almolhem said, Saudia has allocated 50 planes for local flights only. But more planes will have to be added to the domestic sector as 20 million passengers are expected to utilize air services. The sector's focus, Almolhem said, is now on four elements: Creating an international cargo village in Jeddah, developing a maintenance area — the world's largest maintenance compound — that will start operating in 2014, more emphasis on land services, and offering training and jobs to 12000 Saudis in the coming years. Muhammad Abid, Supervisor General of the new King Abdul Aziz Airport project, said phase one of the project, which will service 30 million travelers by 2014, has already begun. When completed, the three-phase project will serve 80 million passengers and will be linked to the Mashair Train taking pilgrims immediately to the holy cities, he said. __
