JEDDAH — A Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747-400 returned to King Abdulaziz International Airport shortly after takeoff on Wednesday due to a technical fault in one of the engines. An official spokesman for the airline said Saudia flight SV403 bound for Kano, Nigeria, took off at 8.26 p.m. but the pilot noticed a technical fault in an engine cover and decided to return to the airport. The spokesman said the pilot informed the control tower of his decision, emptied excessive fuel as a precaution and landed normally at 9.32 p.m. The spokesman said all passengers were safely disembarked and a substitute aircraft was secured for them.