The General Authority of Civil Aviation, represented by the Kingdom’s airports, achieved steady growth in passenger numbers during 2016, with 84 million passengers departing on 640,000 flights from the Kingdom’s 27 international, regional, and domestic airports, of whom 43 million traveled on 350,000 domestic flights, and 41 million traveled on 290,000 international flights. Cairo topped the list of the most popular destinations from Saudi airports, followed by Dubai, with Doha in third place.

The Kingdom’s international airports include King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, and Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Airport in Medina, which recorded the highest passenger traffic in 2016, with approximately 70 million passengers. The number of flights at these airports exceeded 525,000, representing a 5.4% increase over the previous year.

During 2016, the General Authority of Civil Aviation granted licenses to several airlines, most notably granting national air operator licenses to Nesma Airlines, which is based at Ha’il Airport, and Saudi Gulf Airlines, which operates out of King Fahd International Airport in Dammam; Both airlines began operating flights in the fourth quarter of 2016.

The year 2016 also saw the opening of Terminal 5 at King Khalid International Airport, which is entirely dedicated to domestic flights, which was designed to accommodate 12 million passengers annually, allowing them to experience the new services and technologies used throughout the terminal—including the check-in area, security screening, gate waiting areas, baggage claim, and more.

In this context, the President’s Assistant for Airports, Engineer Tariq bin Othman Al-Abduljabbar, affirmed that the General Authority of Civil Aviation is working to develop the network of international, regional, and domestic airports to accommodate demand and the growing number of passengers at the Kingdom’s various airports, noting that efforts are underway to build a modern airport system that provides advanced, state-of-the-art services, thereby strengthening the Kingdom’s position as an influential player in the civil aviation industry, enhancing the high-quality services provided to passengers, providing them with comfort and luxury at airports, meeting the growing demand for air traffic, and fulfilling the Authority’s aspirations to develop the civil aviation sector’s infrastructure in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.