Several passengers have voiced their dissatisfaction over the time being taken to complete the expansion project at King Abdul Aziz Airport here. As the aerial gateway to the Two Holy Mosques, the airport receives millions of pilgrims every year in addition to millions of everyday passengers, factors which those who voice their complaints say should have been taken into account decades ago to avoid what one passenger terms the “the construction work chaos which has turned the airport into a factory workshop.” Now passengers are complaining at the paucity of signs to help them find their way around the facility, and particularly to terminals and gates, a situation which has resulted in considerable confusion and many passengers losing their way. Ayman Nassif, supervisor of Public Relations and Information Administration at the Civil Aviation Authority, pointed out the size of the airport expansion project and said that priority had been given to terminals and the movement of people through the facility. “The installation of signboards has been considered, but all the projects are interconnected and we asked the contractor to give priority to terminals,” Nassif said. He said that he expected the situation to improve soon. Muhammed Ahmad, Sueliman Al-Metteri and Yasser Ba Rasheed, all frequents at the airport, expressed their exasperation. “We were delighted at hearing about the huge allocation made for the expansion of the airport, but we think the step has come too late. Technical matters like these should have been planned for before the construction of the airport.” Ahmad Al-Ghamdi, a frequent user of the airport, said he was often astonished at the immaculate conditions found in airports in neighboring countries compared to the one in Jeddah. “The airport is only 30 years old, but it seems to have become outdated very fast. Maybe the huge area it covers makes it difficult to maintain.” Al-Ghamdi further complained of overcrowding and the lack of a system to organize travelers and other users of the airport. Improvements at the airport have been made at counters for national and foreign airline companies, the luggage security-check area, ticket sales offices, the departure terminal at the new northern building, the international departure terminal, the duty free area, Al-Farsan terminal, and the southern terminal. The southern terminal has had its the departure lounge expanded by 8,100 square meters, with an additional 1,300 seats and 12 gates with stairs, escalators and elevators to the bus area. Arrivals gates have also been added to the ground floor, 56 additional counters installed, and a new system for weighing and moving luggage in the security-check system. – Okaz __
