Saudi Arabia’s airports have seen a “substantial growth in international traffic” as the number of international flight services from the Kingdom’s airport surges 50% since last year.
The number of international flight services from the domestic airports jumped by 51.5 percent to 26,361 at the end of 2015 from 17,405 in 2014, according to a report in the Saudi Gazette.
The report said that Prince Naif Airport in Al-Qassim ranked first among domestic airports with a growth of 55.5 percent or 7,418 international flights last year, but other airports around the Kingdom contributed to the overall gain in traffic.
Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) is scheduled to proceed with privatization plans as of the first quarter this year, with King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh as the first asset to be privatized, according to a report in the Saudi Gazette.
The national carrier also plans to add more than 80 planes to its fleet by 2020, expanding its size by over two-thirds, according to reports. Under its ‘Flight 2020’ plan, Saudia is aiming for a fleet of 200 aircraft by the end of the decade. Saudia joined SkyTeam Alliance of carriers in 2012.
“Our five-year transformation plan is all about transforming Saudia into a sustainable, profitable, competitive airline…We’ve taken a lot of serious measures in this direction … Now what we are doing is we just keep adding capacity,” Saudia Director General Abdul Mohsen Junaid said in December.
A report in Bloomberg in October said that Saudia was “looking at placing an order for Airbus Group SE’s A380 Super Jumbo and could also purchase more Boeing Co. 777 wide-body planes or the re-engined and enlarged 777X,” citing the company’s CEO, Abdul Mohsen Jonaid. Saudia was the first airline in the world to operate the new Airbus A330-300 Regional.
Adding to the growth for Saudia, new or renovated airports are scheduled to come online across the Kingdom.
King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah was said to be “85 percent complete” as of October 2015, and would open “on schedule in mid-2016.” The renovations can’t come soon enough for Jeddah residents and visitors: Jeddah’s old airport was ranked as the world’s second worst airport in 2015.
King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh is also welcoming a new terminal, as construction progress there is visible from the old terminal. The new terminal in Riyadh was designed by the US-based architecture-engineering firm Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum (HOK).
Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz Airport, in Medina, Saudi Arabia, also received a facelift last year. The new look features modern terminals with high ceilings, upgraded shopping and dining options for visitors, and more.
