The Passport Department at King Khaled International Airport (KKIA) has increased the number of counters at the international terminal from 14 to 24.

Brig. Gen. Khalid Al-Muqbil, director of KKIA’s passport office, announced the development to journalists at the airport on Wednesday.

The Passport Department has also introduced two new machines to collect feedback from passengers on services and the performance of employees. “The feedback about each employee will be used to evaluate his performance for the purposes of training and promotion,” he said.

Al-Muqbil said the Passport Department is continuously looking to improve its infrastructure and resources. “For example, over the last six months, we hired 150 new staff members at the airport.”

He said this helped to reduce serving time for Gulf Cooperation Council passengers and re-entry visa holders to 10 seconds. First-time arrivals are handled on average in 65 seconds because officials have to take photographs, fingerprints, and conduct background checks, he said.