TABUK/JAZAN/DAMMAM — It is time to return to school after the short mid-year vacation, vacationers are now vying with each another to get seats to return to their regions. Though some have left it till late to make it back home from their destinations, many have planned their departures well ahead of the school start. The reason being they are worried about purchasing school stationery ahead of the beginning of classes and adjusting their biological clocks after staying up the full night and waking up late during the holidays. Amid this flurry of activity, the departure lounges in the airports and Saudi Public Transport Company (SAPTCO) bus depots in different regions are witnessing the seasonal crowding of passengers. Also, the roads are seeing a different tempo, as there are many vehicles departing from different places and carrying passengers and memories of the short vacation. Okaz/Saudi Gazette monitored the movement of departing passengers in several airports and SAPTCO bus stations besides the movement of hundreds of vehicles. They interviewed several vacationers and listened to their fears about arriving late in their cities and towns. The scene of massive crowding at the airports recurs every season. The vacationers said that more flights should be scheduled during the peak season, while some said that airlines need to focus on the favored domestic destinations and increase the number of traffic assistants at the airports so as to help passengers complete procedures on time during the holiday seasons. Meanwhile, people in the Jazan Regional Airport said bookings were closed for 14 days. The departure lounge in the airport witnessed crowding on Wednesday with passengers bunching up and all wishing to travel after the end of the winter holiday. This caused passengers to crowd at the doors of reservation offices hoping to get a seat. Those on the waiting list were the ones camping out at these offices as they hoped to get a seat on any flight. With the electronic ticket service rejecting all bookings for two weeks, the vacationers were in a quandary. Many expressed their displeasure that the problem, which repeats every holiday season, has not been solved for years now. They also blamed Saudi Arabian Airlines for not intervening to solve the problem. Atiyah Al-Bluwi said he has been trying to get reservations to Tabuk region for several days now. He said he came to the airport with the hope of finding reservations. Al-Bluwi lamented that six hours have passed and he has been waiting to get a seat on a flight. Meanwhile, Fayiz Al-Harbi said: “I've come to the airport with my family with the hope of finding reservations to Jeddah. As you can see four hours have passed while I've been waiting in front of the reservations cabin with the hope of finding seats to Jeddah after the end of the vacation.” Khaled Abu Humaid said they were dealt with inappropriately by some Saudi Arabian Airlines employees. He said these employees shouted at all passengers. He demanded of Saudia to train its employees in the art of dealing with the public. He said he brought his relative to Jazan Airport after booking a seat to Riyadh 20 days ago. When his relative asked for a boarding pass, he was told that he was late and the seats on the flight had been closed. He was told to register his name in the waiting list for the next flight plus payment of a SR50 fee because he was late. This was despite the fact that he came to the airport one hour before the departure. — With additional reporting by Hussein Maha and Abdulaziz Al-Qaw from Jazan and Dammam respectively.
