RIYADH — The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), in its bid to raise the level of quality of services provided to travelers and airport visitors alike, has focused on many development projects in the Kingdom with the aim of absorbing the significant growth in air transport demand from the area residents and those coming to it.

It has focused intrinsically on the development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's airports, including western airports (Taif International Airport, Prince Abdulmajeed Bin Abdulaziz Airport in Al-Ula, and Prince Abdulmohsin Bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Yanbu).

GACA continued its practical steps within a program to develop and improve airports and increase the number of domestic destinations by launching a package of development programs and initiatives in various regions of the Kingdom to raise the level of competitiveness and balance between supply and demand in the air transport market in a way that serves the traveler and enhance the civil aviation industry.

These development projects reflect positively on the increase in air traffic, the number of travelers, and the development of tourism and economic movement in the western region. The official statistics issued by GACA during the year 2019 in the western tourist areas recorded the arrival of (1,174,246) passengers through Taif International Airport.

While the number of flights reached (10,867) flights, in contrast, the number of passengers at Prince Abdulmajeed Bin Abdulaziz airport in Al-Ula during the past year reached (61,138) passengers. Further, the number of flights reached (1,638) flights, while at Prince Abdulmohsin Bin Abdulaziz in Yanbu, the number of passengers reached (696,662) last year, while the number of flights reached (6,884).

In order to accommodate the great growth in demand for air transport from the region’s residents and visitors alike, and to raise the level of quality of services provided to travelers and airport visitors, GACA has worked to complete many continuous development projects during the past period. These projects included Prince Abdulmajeed Bin Abdulaziz airport in Al-Ula.

The airport expansion project is to accommodate more aircraft, the travel terminal preparation project for international operation, the electronic gates project in the executive terminal and the airport terminal itself.

Further, work will commence on a new digital information display system in the arrival and departure terminals, in addition to the development of the interior and exterior designs of the two terminals, the renovation of the main building and the expansion of the airside service yard for aircrafts to accommodate larger aircraft.

Work will start as well in increasing the airport's capacity and the establishment of a VIP lounge in which local building materials are used that are consistent with the picturesque environment and its long heritage, along with a host of other updates aimed at improving the traveler's experience.

At Taif and Yanbu airports, GACA has implemented several projects with the aim of raising the efficiency of operation and raising the percentage of expected flights domestically and internationally, developing the infrastructure and raising the level of services provided to travelers.

This is in addition to applying the best international standards and specifications that guarantee domestic and international operation, and with a capacity that accommodates the largest possible number of travelers.

These projects include the airport operations systems and flight information display system, which includes the installation of flight information display screens (arrival - departure - check-in counters - connecting the airport to the VIP lounge) and the general areas inside the airport.

Furthermore, the projects include the linkage of the airport to the unified airport resource management system in Jeddah, in addition to replacing the passengers seats and the supply of passenger transport vehicles.

GACA is keen to develop the international and domestic airport network in line with the latest methods and technologies, while effectively achieving the principle of sustainability in line with the size of the civil aviation sector and its functions in order to accommodate the growing demand and increase in the number of passengers in various airports around Saudi Arabia, and to build a modern airport system that provides advanced modern services.

The aim here is to enhance the services provided to travelers to high quality, provide comfort and luxury and accommodate the increasing demand on air traffic, as well as developing the work methodology for protecting customers according to the latest international systems and standards. — SPA