JEDDAH: The General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) launched the idea of a project called Watani to link all parts of the Kingdom by air by beefing up activities at important provincial airports.

Capt. Abdul Hakim Badar, assistant vice president at GACA, said the project aims to link airports by providing more seats for passengers in both the domestic and international sectors. The initiative would increase airport economic value and enable national carriers to increase flights between airports, Asharq Al-Awsat daily reported.

GACA is considering this project to meet the growing demand for air travel between domestic cities besides offering wider choices for passengers and improving the quality of service offered at airports through granting passengers the option of reaching their destinations through central airports, Al-Badar said.

“The project will be a solution to the shortage of seats and flights in addition to developing flight movement between airports with an increased numbers of flights,” he added.

“The project follows the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman to find practical solutions to provide air transport services to all parts of the country,” he said, adding that the implementation of the project is expected to start shortly.

He added that the project is based on the idea of using a nearby central airport as gateway for each region, to facilitate people’s travel to all Saudi cities and neighboring countries through the some airports designated as central airports without the need to rely on major international airports. It also aims to promote the concept of air transport to a global level providing the passengers with additional travel options.

Al-Badar said the project will provide additional flights to all cities in the Kingdom, especially to cities which suffer a shortage of flights and seats. Existing flights will be retained and new flights will be operated from airports with more seats to all cities.

The requirements for a central airport include suitable geographic location, adequate infrastructure and the capacity to accommodate a large number of passengers, he said.

He expected the Watani project to double the number of flights with the activation of central airports in some provinces. The supply will depend on the demand for air service, and the increased number of seats will encourage citizens to prefer air travel to road journey.

He also said the growth in flight services including domestic and international flights is 10 percent annually. He added that GACA is currently conducting a study to identify the airports that can serve as central airports.