The majority of fines were issued at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah (330), which was followed by King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh (320), King Fahd International Airport in Dammam (160) and Prince Muhammad International Airport in Madinah (86). The rest of the fines (140) were issued at other airports in the Kingdom.

Under the ban, airport staff risk having their security cards withdrawn if caught smoking. Their cards will be revoked if they repeat the offense.

GACA spokesman Khaled Al-Khaibari said all concerned agencies at Saudi airports are keen to enforce the ban. “There will not be any leniency on the part of the airport authorities in implementing the decision. An overwhelming majority of Saudis as well as foreigners are fully adhering to the new rules. This is obvious from the nominal number of violators among such a huge number of airport users,” he said, adding that there has also been a substantial decrease in the number of violators as days pass.

Al-Khaibari clarified that there have been no objections raised by violators and that there are no plans to shift or modify existing smoking rooms within airports. He also unveiled plans to introduce the Sadad system to pay fines.

“We had earlier asked the Ministry of Health, in its capacity as the sponsor of the Anti-Smoking Campaign, to open an account and register it with the National Information Center prior to linking it with the Sadad system. Efforts are under way in coordination with the Ministry of Interior,” he said, adding that the Sadad system would be introduced in the near future.

It is estimated that Saudis spend about SR8 billion on cigarettes every year.