JEDDAH — The number of domestic flights will increase to 77 next week from the existing 69, Director of King Abdulaziz International Airport, Issam Fouad Nour, told Okaz/Saudi Gazette on Sunday. In tandem with the steady increase in daily flights, staff strength in the relevant security and civil departments is being increased, he said. The official reiterated that regular international flights continue to be suspended. There are, he said, only exceptional flights related to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques initiative of bringing back stranded Saudis to the Kingdom, as well as the initiative for returning the stranded residents in the Kingdom to their respective countries. This is being carried out in line with all the safety requirements and protocols and precautionary and preventive health measures in all airports of the Kingdom, Fouad Nour said. Talking about transferring all flights to the new King Abdulaziz International Airport terminal, the official said the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) is monitoring the work being done at the terminal. Full operations at the new terminal will begin only after getting the GACA nod, he said. The new airport consists of four terminals: Terminal one has the capacity of 30 million passengers annually in its first stage. In addition the airport has the Southern Terminal, the Northern Terminal and the Haj Terminal. GACA aims to make the new airport a pivotal facility that connects the East with the West. The total area of the Travel Hall Complex in the new airport is estimated at 810,000 sq. meters, allowing all air carriers to operate under one roof. It has 220 counters for completing travel procedures and 80 self-service counters for passengers. In addition, it has a complex for commercial investment halls with an area of 27,987 sq. meters, and a 120-room three-story hotel for passengers traveling on international transit flights, in addition to a sophisticated system for handling passengers' luggage with a length of about 34 km. It has a capacity of 7,800 bags per hour for departing flights and 9,000 bags per hour for incoming flights. Terminal 1 in the new airport also has 46 gates for international and domestic flights; including gates to accommodate giant planes such as A380s. The gates are linked to 94 mobile bridges serving 70 aircraft simultaneously. In addition, there are parking spaces for 28 aircraft in the open areas of the Travel Halls Complex in the new airport, and a 136-meters-high control tower, one of the highest observation towers in the world. It is equipped with the latest air navigation technology.
