The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has denied a newspaper report claiming it had refused to use Taif airport as a backup to ease the burden of increased departure flights carrying pilgrims and Makkah visitors from Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport.
The newspaper had quoted an unnamed official source in its report.
GACA said it intends to refurbish Taif airport as a regional airport capable of dealing with the growth in air traffic including Haj and Umrah flights.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah earlier approved a recommendation by the Haj Supreme Committee that GACA rehabilitates Taif airport so it can receive Haj flights, said the statement.
GACA then formed a committee to implement this recommendation. The authority recently had the airport operating international flights to and from Taif. Several airlines are now regularly using the airport.
GACA said it would encourage other airlines to follow suit and is happy for the airport to become an international hub. The statement said a project to improve the airport started this year. When finished, the airport’s capacity will reach 550,000 passengers a year. The current capacity is 350,000 passengers a year.
A GACA spokesman meanwhile said the authority will meet the seven foreign airlines shortlisted from a total of 14 carriers vying for licensing in the Kingdom next month. “We will brief the qualified carriers on the next steps of the bidding process, giving them statistics about passenger capacity and the Kingdom's airports," said Khaled Al-Khaibary.
He said that licensing will not be awarded in September as previously discussed, but GACA will instead see qualifying companies fulfill the final steps of the bidding process and submit their completed files for final processing.
Al-Khaibary said that following licensing, carriers will have four to six months to choose a hub, set up their operations and abide by GACA qualifications and technical procedures, which should be completed by February of next year.
“When the airlines have adequately set up operations according to GACA qualifications, we will give them a period of around 16 days to start services on domestic and international routes, so this would be around April next year,” Al-Khaibary added.
Among the required qualifications that airlines must fulfill are financial capability, substantial experience in management and various operating departments as well as adequate cargo and other services.
Saudi Arabia decided to open its skies to foreign carriers, mainly from the Gulf Cooperation Council, to meet the rising demand for domestic travel.
“Domestic travel has increased by 2 million seats annually that the two current carriers — state-run Saudi Arabian Airlines and private low-cost carrier National Air Services (NAS) — are struggling to meet,” Al-Khaibary said.
GACA says committed to use Taif airport for pilgrims
