President of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Dualij inaugurated on Monday the electronic portal for passenger service, in conjunction with World Consumer Rights Day, which falls on March 15 of each year, with the aim of educating travelers about their rights. On World Consumer Rights Day, GACA highlighted the package of services and initiatives provided to travelers, explaining their rights and duties on trips through regulations and legislation enacted to protect their rights and improve the travel experience. For the importance of this, GACA created a specialized department under the name of the "General Administration of Quality and Protection of Passengers" that developed a special regulation for customers' rights. The online portal provides a set of services concerned with improving passengers' experience and upgrading the level of services provided at Saudi airports through dedicated platforms for complaints and suggestions, receiving inquiries, a published list of travelers, the obligations of the air carrier and travelers, in addition to a service center that operates around the clock. The portal enables travelers to speak directly with the "digital assistant" to know their trip information and rights, and to see the traveler's obligations during the resumption of flights (during the coronavirus pandemic in Saudi Arabia). The "digital assistant" receives complaints and suggestions from travelers on Saudi airlines and airports. This is in addition to other services, such as the automatic response via Twitter, and a support service for the electronic portal via the unified number around the clock 8001168888, with a specialized and qualified staff working to guide travelers on all issues related to protecting their rights to improve the level of services provided to them. GACA's participation comes in conjunction with the awareness campaign launched by the Ministry of Commerce within the framework of qualitative partnerships that the authority carries out with all governmental and non-governmental agencies to enhance the interactive role provided by the authority in raising awareness and educating travelers of their rights, and clarifying the rights guaranteed by the regulations for travelers. This is in addition to raising the level of transparency through periodic reports, follow-up and continuous evaluation. — SG
