Saudi airports in need of a smile
When I was a child, one of the best treats I used to get from my older relatives was a trip to Dhahran International Airport to meet arriving relatives or say goodbye to traveling relatives. We saw planes from all over the world. At that time Dhahran Airport was the main hub between the East and the West. To this day I consider it to be the most beautiful airport in the world. Not because it is the largest or the most advanced, it was because all Saudi or foreign employees at the airport always had a smile on their faces. Passport control officers, customs, travel agents, government employees and the taxi drivers, they all had smile on their faces. It was the public relation at its best. During my childhood, my visits to the airport are considered a real treat, because there are many other things that come with it. We would go to the beautiful streets of Alkhobar and most important was when we went to Saudi Aramco compound in Dhahran and watch an American movie. And when I say an Aramco compound, I am not talking about a little residential area. These compounds are big towns and they all look like small towns of the US. Main streets, movie theaters, cafeterias, super markets and many other facilities. I was taken on these trips to Dhahran Airport only if I was behaving well at home and school. The hardest part of being awarded with these trips was the demand to behave for at least two weeks in a row… Now, can you imagine the agony of behaving good for two weeks when you are 9 years old. But, going to the airport was worth behaving.
Airports are the first place a visitor, businessman/woman, tourist, diplomat and guest worker will see in a country. The behavior of the personnel at the airport no matter what their duties are, are a reflection of what a person will expect to see when he is outside the airport. Many newcomers to any airport are always wary. It is very important to talk to newcomers in the most polite way. And workers at the airports must go an extra mile to help the newcomers to the airport. The kind and polite treatment will ease the burden of the long hours of flight and being in a different place. Our religion Islam and the directives of the Saudi authorities always emphasize on kind and polite treatment of newcomers at the airports.
In the past, by today's standards, there were three small international airports. They were in Dhahran, Riyadh and Jeddah and all of these three airports have moved to new locations. Also, there were many municipal airports all over the Kingdom. And in the past, the number of foreign visitors to the Kingdom wasn’t huge except for the Haj season and Jeddah airport was the one handling the arrivals and departures of the pilgrims.
From the 1970s onward, the Saudi government has built the largest international airports in the world and many other regional airports. Now, there are more international airports in addition to the three old ones. Airports at Madinah, Qasim and Abha are handling international flights. Billions of Saudi riyals have been spent and billions have been allocated for the airport upgrading. But, these billions being spent or allocated must be matched by personal behavior and good training of the employees at these airports. Different departments must work in synchronization with each other. There is a need to train the baggage handlers, passport officers, customs, ground crew and officials from any other departments. Also, cleanliness is the most important factor in any facility. Going to the bathrooms is the first thing passengers will do before taking off or after landing from a long flight. Also, it is important to have bilingual employees for better communication with the passengers.
Saudi airports are the only airports in the world that have year-round season. Saudi Arabia is dealing with its calendar and the outside world. There are many expatriates in the Kingdom and hundreds of thousands of Saudi students who study abroad. And their days off are different from ours. In Saudi Arabia there are many holiday seasons and events. We have the summer, mid-term, Ramadan, Haj, Eid Al-Adha, Eid Al-Fitr and Christmas for non-Muslims in the Kingdom. Also, the Umrah is a year-round occasion for all Muslims around the world to visit Makkah and Madinah. This is why Saudi Arabia has a constant flow of foreigners coming and leaving the Kingdom. And this is why it is important to give airport personnel many indoctrination courses of how to deal with air travelers. And they are supposed to be taught that it is their duty to show the highest respect to a newcomer and other traveler to the Kingdom.
I still remember when our airports were the preferred hubs for many people in the area. Saudi airports were and still are the top airports in the world in regard to security and safety. So, it is not difficult to get back many of the positive things about our airports and our national airline. The Saudi Aviation Authority now has a new man in charge, Prince Fahad bin Abdullah Al-Saud. He is a former F-15 fighter pilot and a pilot instructor and considered one of the most dynamic administrators. And now, we need to bring the smile to the airport personnel at the Saudi airports. Airports are the place where the first impression a newcomer will have about a country. And finally, speaking of Saudi airports, 30 years ago, Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) was probably the only airline that used to serve shrimp and lobster to the economy class passengers. And it used to have the most comfortable and most attractive velvet first class seats.
- This article is exclusive to Arab News.
