RIYADH: The King Abdulaziz International airport in Jeddah ranked top among international airports in Saudi Arabia for overall performance in December, as the Kingdom’s travel sector shows strong signs of rebounding, according to the latest report by the General Authority for Civil Aviation.
GACA monthly report evaluates the country’s airports’ commitment to implementing improvements in passenger experience and services based on fourteen performance criteria including time spent in travel procedures, passports, customs areas and disability services.
With a commitment rate of 82 percent in December, up from 64 percent in November, King Abdulaziz Airport, also known as Jeddah International Airport, topped the list where the number of passengers exceeded 15 million annually.
In the same list, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh came second with a commitment rate of 64 percent, down from 73 percent in November 2022.
GACA has followed the principle of transparency when evaluating the airports’ performance, which was divided into five categories based on the number of passengers traveling annually and the type of airports.
According to the report, King Fahd International Airport maintained the first spot in the second category, where the number of passengers ranges between 5 to 15 million annually, with a commitment rate of 91 percent.
Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport also had a commitment rate of 91 percent in the second category in December, up from 82 percent in November 2022.
As for the third category of international airports, where the number of passengers ranges between 2 and 5 million annually, Abha International Airport and King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Airport in Jazan maintained a 100 percent commitment rate in December 2022.
Meanwhile, Al-Jouf Airport ranked first in the fourth category of international airports that receive less than two million passengers annually, with a 100 percent commitment rate in December, the same as the rate recorded in November.
The fifth category is a ranking for domestic airports, in which Bisha Airport came first, achieving a score of 100 percent.
The National Aviation Strategy is one of the key elements in Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 as the Kingdom aims to diversify its revenue sources by elevating its travel and tourism sector.
According to the National Aviation Strategy, Saudi Arabia is aiming to increase air connectivity to 250 destinations, reaching 330 million passengers, and double air cargo capacity to 4.5 million tons by 2030.
