RIYADH: The King Khaled International Airport here has opened 15 more immigration counters at the departing lounge that aims to improve the facilities as also to ease the growing capacity at the airport.

“The new counters would help ease the capacity of the airport that witnesses heavy traffic during holidays,” said Maj. Gen. Sulaiman Al-Yahya, head of the Passport Department, while launching the first phase of the international departure lounge for Saudi Arabia’s airline No. 2, recently.

The lounge included 15 state-of-the-art counters equipped with high-tech devices. It is also equipped with latest finger print machine to identify passengers through their biometric identity.

Al-Yahya said, “We are advised to expedite and finish the project to attend and meet the needs of the passengers, especially these days.”

Self service electronic machines have also been made available at the airport where passengers can make their own check in and get boarding pass through these machines. Plans are afoot to seek massive expansion and improvement at the airport to accommodate 35 million passengers yearly by 2020, according to reports.