RIYADH: Complaints of air passengers in Saudi Arabia recorded a 41 percent drop to 950 in October compared to the previous month, according to the General Authority of Civil Aviation.
GACA, in its monthly report released on Wednesday, revealed that it received 1,626 and 1,442 complaints in September and August respectively.
However, complaints in October rose 16 percent compared to the 812 filed in the same month last year.
Saudi Arabia’s low-cost airline flynas received the fewest complaints among carriers, with 27 complaints per 100,000 travelers and a 100 percent timely handling rate, said the report.
Saudia came second with 27 complaints per 100,000 travelers and a resolution rate of 99 percent.
flyadeal came in third with 49 grievances per 100,000 travelers and a timely handling rate of 86 percent.
According to the authority, the most common complaints in August were related to flights, luggage services and tickets.
Among international airports serving more than 6 million passengers annually, Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport had the lowest complaint rate at 1 percent per 100,000 passengers.
Among domestic airports, Qaisumah domestic airport had the lowest rate at 4 percent per 100,000 travelers.
GACA’s monthly classification report aims to inform passengers about the performance of air transport service providers and airports.
The authority believes that such information could help passengers make informed choices, along with increasing transparency of the aviation sector in the Kingdom.
On Nov. 16, another GACA report revealed that KAIA outperformed other terminals in the Kingdom for overall performance in October.
It said that the Jeddah airport secured the top position in the category of international gateways, serving over 15 million passengers annually, achieving a compliance rate of 91 percent.
Strengthening the aviation sector has been crucial for the Kingdom as it eyes to become a global business and tourism hub aligned with the goals outlined in Vision 2030.
Through its National Aviation Strategy, the Kingdom aims to enhance air connectivity to 250 destinations, serving 330 million passengers, and double air cargo capacity to 4.5 million tons by 2030.
