Fraport’s know-how continues to travel around the globe. “A total of 13 employees of Fraport AG have already been deployed in the Kingdom,” said Ralf Schiffer, Fraport chief executive officer in Riyadh.

Schiffer said that the company has also pulled out several experts from its global operations and deployed them at airports in Jeddah and Riyadh.  The Fraport management teams in Jeddah and Riyadh have been entrusted with the task of implementing the ambitious strategy of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) of Saudi Arabia, said Fraport chief, while giving an overview of the Fraport’s operations in the Kingdom.

He said the focus, in particular, is on developing both airports — King Khaled International Airport (KKIA) in Riyadh and King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) in Jeddah — that will include significant expansion and improvement in activities and enhancing service quality. The development projects at these airports, once completed, would ensure sustainable traffic growth as Fraport is conducting intensive training programs for the airports’ employees.

To this end, it is important to note that GACA along with Fraport has already implemented a number of training initiatives for the benefit of the airport and its employees. By the year-end, more than 500 KAIA employees will have attended courses in Jeddah, said Schiffer. In addition, more than 100 executives, managers and young trainees will be sent to other Fraport airports around the world for individual training within a year from now in a staggered schedule.

One of the most important initiatives is the Fraport’s Young Professionals Program for talented staff members who are being trained to occupy leading positions at the airports. As part of the program, they are sent to Fraport headquarters, Frankfurt Airport in Germany, for three to six months to work on individual projects and to receive general management training.

Ten trainees who recently returned from three months training in Frankfurt received certificates recognizing their achievements recently.

The presentation ceremony was attended by Mazen Khashoggi, KAIA director general, and Jan C. Laufs, Fraport’s managing director at KAIA.

The 10 honorees completed the program last year and they are working at KAIA in the fields they were trained in at Frankfurt. Another group of 10 more dedicated young KAIA employees has also left for training.

Referring to the GACA-Fraport tie-up, Schiffer said that the GACA’s initiative to ensure better operation and services at the international airports of Jeddah and Riyadh is on the right track. An all-embracing project concept allows GACA to take advantage of Fraport’s worldwide expertise so that managers from Riyadh and Jeddah can benefit from Fraport’s proven and established airport management training programs, operation experience and administrative efficiency.

For both airports, GACA has set specific targets such as hub development, expansion programs, cargo and passenger growth, and financial and economic independency. Fraport is providing operational and management expertise. The Saudi aviation market is very attractive and the overall economic situation of the Kingdom is luring. Local and international investors are finding tremendous opportunities for investment in commercial activities, airport cities and the air cargo businesses.

Interest from investors abroad is seen more now as the new projects in the aviation and transport sector in the Gulf region are about to open up, said the statement. At both Riyadh and Jeddah airports, passenger growth is above average compared to the situation in other world cities. The foreign traffic on Saudi airports is growing significantly. 

The Saudi projects are a recognition for Fraport’s integrated A to Z knowledge spectrum based on over 75 years in the aviation industry. Fraport is currently managing a growing range of airports around the globe, either as an equity partner in a consortium or as a service provider under a management contract. The Frankfurt Airport company has concluded a multi-year contract for operating and developing St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport.