JEDDAH: King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh led Saudi Arabia’s aviation performance rankings for February, driven by improved passenger services and faster processing times, official data showed.
The airport, handling over 15 million passengers annually, topped the Kingdom’s largest airport category with an 82 percent compliance rate, according to the General Authority of Civil Aviation’s latest report.
It narrowly outperformed King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, which scored the same but ranked second based on evaluation criteria.
The report assessed airports across five categories using 11 performance standards, including check-in, security, customs, and services for passengers with limited mobility. This is part of GACA’s efforts to improve transparency and service quality, aiming to enhance the travel experience across the Kingdom’s airports.
In the second category, for terminals handling 5 to 15 million passengers annually, King Fahd International Airport in Dammam led with a 91 percent compliance rate, followed by Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah at 82 percent.
For airports handling 2 to 5 million passengers in the third category, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Jazan and Abha International Airport both achieved a perfect 100 percent score.
Arar International Airport topped the fourth category — international airports with under 2 million passengers — also with 100 percent, standing out for its low wait times on arrivals and departures.
Gurayat led the fifth category for domestic airports with a 100 percent compliance rate, surpassing others in minimizing wait times.
Saudi Arabia’s air travel sector posted strong gains in 2024, with total passenger numbers hitting a record 128 million — a 15 percent increase from 2023 and a 25 percent jump from pre-pandemic levels.
Domestic flights carried 59 million passengers, while international routes accounted for 69 million.
Flights across the Kingdom’s airports rose 11 percent to 905,000, including 474,000 domestic and 431,000 international flights, according to GACA’s Air Traffic 2024 Report.
Air connectivity expanded 16 percent, linking Saudi Arabia to more than 170 global destinations, while cargo volumes surged 34 percent to over 1.2 million tonnes. Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, and Madinah airports handled 82 percent of total air traffic.
Saudi Arabia aims to enhance air connectivity to 250 destinations, serving 330 million passengers, and double air cargo capacity to 4.5 million tons by 2030 through its National Aviation Strategy.
