Al-Ahsa airport’s steep decline can be traced back to the fact that most travelers prefer to fly through other airports in neighboring countries and through Dammam’s facilities, said Jamal Al-Saeed, Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) office manager in Al-Ahsa. According to him, Saudia is keen on the airport’s positive turnout in various aspects, such as its economic feasibility.

Al-Saeed said statistical figures indicate that a total 12,600 accredited institutions and companies operate in Al-Ahsa but travelers did not care about encouraging and stimulating businesses in the airport. Some flights had to be canceled in the recent past due to the absence of passengers, while other flights take off with as little as six passengers, since many Saudis favor Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport over Al-Ahsa.

Representatives of international aviation firms believed that the airport’s main weakness stems from a lack of international flights during the weekend, the lack of services at the airport, as well as the inappropriate timing of other flights, sometimes requiring layovers of more than 9 hours in other airports.

Part of the solution, they claimed, is to increase the number of flights during the weekends and modify other flight schedules.

“There are neither economic benefits nor encouraging incentives for airlines to operate their flights from Al-Ahsa, so they prefer King Fahd International Airport in Dammam,” they said.

Some managers at travel agencies in Al-Ahsa admitted that they did not offer tickets for flights from Al-Ahsa airport for clients.