It is understandable that King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA), Jeddah, is crowded with passengers at the end of the Haj season every year due to the large number of pilgrims. But what is not easy to understand is why flights fail to take off on time and why KAIA management has failed to take serious steps to remedy the problem of its overcrowded terminal which occurs at the end of every Haj season. It is also hard to understand why flights are delayed for hours and then airplanes take off with empty seats. KAIA management should stop blaming passengers for its overcrowded lounges and should start identifying the real causes of the problem. What are passengers expected to do when they arrive at the airport and find no information about their delayed flights and no one to tell them what is happening? Can you blame them for sitting with their eyes glued to monitor screens searching for information? We have to be fair and admit that passengers, especially those with children, suffer because of this. What can passengers on waiting lists do when an airplane takes off with at least 15 empty seats and they do not get a chance to fly? This clearly shows that airline employees do not care about passengers, let alone about the image of the company they work for. I am talking about the mentality of the people running the airlines. They seem to overlook the importance of customer satisfaction and the optimum utilization of the potential of their employees as crucial factors in generating profits for their companies. Most foreign airlines never let their airplanes take off with any empty seat, even if this means selling tickets at half-price. The procedure is clear: 15 minutes before a flight takes off, the boarding passes for passengers who fail to show up should be cancelled and passengers on the waiting list should be allowed to board. If a company implements this policy, it will help address the problem of overcrowded airport lounges. I had a similar experience two years ago when the plane I was in, which was going to Madinah, took off with 20 empty seats. The airline employees could have filled these seats and given passengers on the waiting list a chance to get on but they did not because they were not loyal enough to their employer. I think the way employees view the company they work for can be attributed to this failure. Most employees view the company as a public one that is supported and protected by the government; they therefore have little inclination to worry about its welfare. This viewpoint is the reason why the company continues to suffer from the same problems and the reason why we are all convinced that the best solution for this problem is forming a new airline company that is run by foreign staff who will appreciate the needs of passengers.
