The belts broke down on Monday for the third time in the past nine days, coinciding with the rush of outgoing Umrah pilgrims and holidaymakers, an airline official said on Tuesday.
“The belts are now working but at a slow speed. This, together with security officials sending waiting passengers in groups of 40 or 50 into the check-in area, was delaying procedures and contributing to flight delays,” he added. Most of the flights are leaving after a delay of two to three hours, in some cases even longer. Until a few years ago, baggage screening was done before passengers entered the check-in area.
Flight delays are also being reported from the south terminal and Madinah’s Prince Muhammad ibn Abdul Aziz Airport. Saudi Arabian Airlines conducts its operations at these airports. A south terminal source said flight departures were affected because of late arrivals.
However, with most Umrah pilgrims and holidaymakers having reached their respective destinations, KAIA is less likely to be congested by the weekend and normalcy restored, the official said.
At Madinah airport, the congestion was attributed to the national carrier providing extra flights on the first two days of Eid Al-Fitr, an official from the General Authority of Civil Aviation told Al-Madinah newspaper on Tuesday.
Many Umrah flights from Madinah airport were subsequently delayed, adding to the congestion at the airport, which already handles 46 takeoffs a day.
Flights bound for Algeria and various other overseas destinations were delayed because the aircraft did not arrive on time from Jeddah, the source said, adding that the airport had to take several factors into consideration before allowing a flight to take off or land, including the suitability of runways and taking off and landing times.
The airport infrastructure is currently being improved in a bid to expand its operations. The process will continue until October.
