The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has started the trial operation phase of the New Arar Airport in the Northern Border Region. The new airport received yesterday evening the first arrival and departure flights at the new terminal arriving from the capital city of Riyadh via the national carrier, Saudi Arabian Airlines. GACA has prepared all the needed requirements for the trial operation of the new terminal at Arar Airport. The trial operation phase that was inaugurated by GACA on Sunday in the new Arar Airport is a scientific and practical approach that is adopted when implementing major infrastructure projects around the world. It allows testing of vital facilities in a safe and thoughtful way, where the focus is on testing all operational systems, identify technical problems and address them before the full and complete operation of the airport. The Northern Border Region witnessed an exceptional event yesterday evening in the field of air transport, by starting the trial operation run of the new Arar airport. It comes as an extension to achieve the objectives of GACA in developing infrastructure and raising the level of services being provided to travelers around the Kingdom's airports. This is one of the methods in contributing to the development process of the region and a step toward to achieve the strategic goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 and keeping with the great development witnessed in the region in all sectors. The new airport will accommodate the growing growth in demand for air travel by residents of the region and it will be able to provide complete services for travelers according to the highest international standards. The airport will serve many cities' centers and small towns in the Northern Border Region. The new airport is a qualitative shift in the field of air transport for the region, as it will provide the best technologies and services that will in turn contribute to improving travelers' experience, which is in line with the goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 that aims at achieving economic development in all regions around the Kingdom. GACA has implemented the new Arar Airport project, in light of the growing demand to accommodate the ever increasing number of travelers and an effort to create new destinations. The project design work has taken into account the environmental dimension and the achievement of integration with all the airport's functions and services, where the external design forms the letter "Ain" in the Arabic alphabet, which symbolizes the first letter from of the city name. The airport has been implemented in compliance with the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the Air Transport Association (IATA). The new terminal can accommodate more than (1,039,000) passengers annually, with an air traffic capacity that can reach 10 thousand flights per annum. The main travel terminal of the new airport contains (6) travel gates, including two passenger bridges gates that can serve (4) aircraft at one time, and (4) gates that will serve the airside aircraft parking bays. Inside the terminal, a sophisticated luggage handling system can be found, with (2) luggage conveyor belts. This is in addition to (10) check-in counters, (12) passport control counters for arrival, and (8) counters for departure. This is in addition to (900) seats capacity in the main passenger terminal. The new Arar Airport includes all the needed services for travelers, as the main terminal building covers an area of 14990 square meters, and the royal terminal building covers an area of 1800 square meters. Furthermore, there is a fire and rescue building which occupies an area of 3200 square meters, and an airport management building with an area of 850 square meters. This is in addition to the main electricity station building with an area of 1100 square meters, and a building for cooling towers covering an area of 2,200 square meters. The airport is also equipped with gate buildings, aircraft parking bays, external works and sewage treatment plant. It is worth noting that GACA was keen on implementing the new Arar Airport project to improve and provide all needed services for people with disabilities, by preparing the main terminal and securing all their needs. This includes mobile paths and special service counters for this category in the security inspection and check-in area. The aim is to complete their travel procedures with ease and comfort. The step taken by GACA comes in the context of its keenness to improve services in all airports around the Kingdom to be user-friendly airports for people with disabilities. It is worth mentioning, that Arar Airport has achieved growth in passenger traffic during the past couple of years, where GACA's statistics indicate that the number of passengers that went through Arar Airport during 2018 reached (346) thousand passengers. There are several national carriers that operate regular flights to and from Arar Airport, which includes Saudi Arabian Airlines and flynas. The airport operates direct flights to (3) stations, which are King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, and King Fahd International Airport in Dammam. It is worth noting, that the old Arar airport was established in 1981, with a total area of (1810) square meters, and the length of the runway with at (3050) meters and a width of 45 meters, while it had a capacity that reached (196,000) passengers annually, and the air traffic capacity of the old Arar airport is a little more than (2,400) flights annum.
