The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has received new applications from two Saudi companies seeking licenses to operate domestic flights. GACA has already received applications from other Saudi and Gulf companies in this regard, said Khaled Al-Khabiri, GACA's spokesman, in a report carried by Al-Watan Arabic newspaper. Al-Khabiri said the authority is still waiting for the Supreme Economic Council chaired by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, to reply to a study dealing with opening up the domestic air transportation market to other companies. Al-Khabiri said GACA is eagerly looking forward to the day when the local air transportation market is liberated. “In fact the authority is looking forward to attracting foreign companies to run international flights and not only domestic flights as is the case in Tabuk airport where flights are scheduled to Cairo directly without the need to fly via Riyadh or Jeddah.” He said the congestion resulting from the shortage of international flights is a thing of the past because some foreign companies have been allowed to run flights from some of the Kingdom's airports. He said the involvement of foreign companies bring several advantages, including jobs for Saudis and increased air traffic. “Needless to say, the passengers benefit from this because they can find seats to travel any time without restrictions.” Al-Khabiri said GACA has a special toll-free number passengers can call if they have complaints. Passengers are also compensated if flights are delayed. If a flight is delayed between one and two hours passengers get beverages, after three hours they should be served a free meal at the expense of the company, and after six hours passengers should be given accommodation. He said GACA has received several complaints from passengers against some air companies but this has been resolved with compensation.
