Suqair, the recently-appointed head of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), who began work Tuesday, is tasked with accelerating work on a number of airports. One of his most pressing issues will be the controversy over compensation for land in Madina appropriated for airport works, with property owners unhappy at the prices being quoted for their land. The issue is currently suspended between property owners and the valuation committee which is made up of representatives from the Madina Mayoralty and the ministries of Justice, Finance and Interior. As work continues to progress on Prince Muhammad Bin Abdul Aziz International Airport in Madina, however, residents in the area of Al-Ula want to see faster progress at the region's Prince Abdul Majeed Bin Abdul Aziz Airport, with only the final phase of the project still requiring completion. That phase consists of putting the facility into full operation and setting schedules for all domestic and international flights. The full operation of the airport, which currently only serves small international flights, would see a long-awaited end to the region's 120,000 residents having to travel long distances by land to reach the nearest airport, and requires for its conclusion discussions between airlines and aviation companies. “Only small aircraft from abroad use the airport at the moment,” said one resident of the region. “There are no internal flights connecting to other areas or cities of the country. All they are waiting for is the scheduling.” The Al-Ula region is the location of Mada'in Saleh, one of the Kingdom's most prominent tourist sites. “The airport should be opened up to large foreign airlines,” one local said. “The archaeological sites here are some of the most famous in the world according to UNESCO, and the area has the potential to be turned into a huge resort and a large attraction for tourism from inside Saudi Arabia and abroad.” The delay in bringing the airport into full operation, locals say, means a loss of large potential revenues from tourism. “We hope it can be finished as soon as possible. It will also mean it will be much easier for us to get to Riyadh or Jeddah and Madina, which a lot of people here have to do when they need medical treatment,” another local said.
