Abdulaziz Al-Duailej,President ofThe General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA)
The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) President Abdulaziz Al-Duailej said that the Kingdom has witnessed an increase in the number of passengers by 20% during the first quarter of 2024. 
Addressing the Future of Aviation Conference 2024 held in Riyadh, Al-Duailej added that Saudi Arabia has witnessed progress in airports, indicating that King Salman Airport has been launched and work is underway to boost its capacity to more than 150 million passengers by 2025, expecting the number of passengers at King Abdulaziz Airport to rise from 43 million to 50 million this year.
Saudi Arabia has witnessed the first successful model of public-private partnership in the region through Madinah Airport, which kicked off with about 8 million passengers in 2015 and was fully funded and operated by the private sector, said the top official, noting that the Authority recently signed an expansion agreement to increase its capacity to 17 million passengers by 2028.
Al-Duailej stated that a program had been launched to allocate some other regional airports, such as tourist areas and more than 100 foreign companies and investors showed interest, indicating that a number of reforms had been launched to ensure that the investment environment is attractive to foreign investors.
Furthermore, he pointed out that low-cost airlines are being expanded in Dammam, Madinah, and elsewhere, highlighting that the low-cost model witnessed an increase in its market share from 27% to 42% in the domestic market in the past couple of years, and doubled from 16% to 32% in international travel.
More than 4,000 planes pass through Saudi Arabia at peak times. Work is underway to redesign Saudi airspace and create shorter, more dense routes that take less time, which will contribute to improving the traveler’s experience, reduces the cost of fuel and tickets, and help achieve environmental sustainability, according to the top official.
Al-Duailej also pointed out that the Saudi aviation sector faces challenges related to human capital to keep pace with the growth base, while the global aviation industry faces a significant shortage in manufacturing capabilities and other challenges related to the value chain for all stages of production, which needs to be focused on.
Abdulaziz Al-Duailej,President ofThe General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA)
The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) President Abdulaziz Al-Duailej said that the Kingdom has witnessed an increase in the number of passengers by 20% during the first quarter of 2024.
Addressing the Future of Aviation Conference 2024 held in Riyadh, Al-Duailej added that Saudi Arabia has witnessed progress in airports, indicating that King Salman Airport has been launched and work is underway to boost its capacity to more than 150 million passengers by 2025, expecting the number of passengers at King Abdulaziz Airport to rise from 43 million to 50 million this year.
Saudi Arabia has witnessed the first successful model of public-private partnership in the region through Madinah Airport, which kicked off with about 8 million passengers in 2015 and was fully funded and operated by the private sector, said the top official, noting that the Authority recently signed an expansion agreement to increase its capacity to 17 million passengers by 2028.
Al-Duailej stated that a program had been launched to allocate some other regional airports, such as tourist areas and more than 100 foreign companies and investors showed interest, indicating that a number of reforms had been launched to ensure that the investment environment is attractive to foreign investors.
Furthermore, he pointed out that low-cost airlines are being expanded in Dammam, Madinah, and elsewhere, highlighting that the low-cost model witnessed an increase in its market share from 27% to 42% in the domestic market in the past couple of years, and doubled from 16% to 32% in international travel.
More than 4,000 planes pass through Saudi Arabia at peak times. Work is underway to redesign Saudi airspace and create shorter, more dense routes that take less time, which will contribute to improving the traveler’s experience, reduces the cost of fuel and tickets, and help achieve environmental sustainability, according to the top official.
Al-Duailej also pointed out that the Saudi aviation sector faces challenges related to human capital to keep pace with the growth base, while the global aviation industry faces a significant shortage in manufacturing capabilities and other challenges related to the value chain for all stages of production, which needs to be focused on.
