JEDDAH, 23 February 2003 — King Abdul Aziz International Airport (KAIA) in Jeddah is bursting at the seams and is in urgent need of expansion to cater for the increasing number of travelers.
 
Official statistics show that KAIA’s existing capacity is far short of demand, so much so that many people suggest the need of a new airport to replace the 21-year-old KAIA.
 
The airport, a gateway to millions of Haj and Umrah pilgrims every year, will undergo massive expansion in the next three years at a cost of SR5.5 billion ($1.5 billion), according to sources at the Presidency of Civil Aviation.
 
Dr. Ali Al-Khalaf, head of the presidency, has said that the project will be completed by 2007. The project seeks to increase the airport’s annual handling capacity from the present 13 million to 21 million passengers by 2020. It will include construction of new lounges for international and domestic passengers, expansion of existing lounges and the establishment of 25 air bridges for passenger use.
 
The expansion project, one of the most ambitious undertaken by the presidency, is expected to unify international flight operations of all aircraft, including those of Saudi Arabian Airlines, and to facilitate the movement of passengers.
 
Haj is the busiest period for the airport. The airport’s Haj terminal, capable of serving 80,000 pilgrims at a time, handled about 250 flights a day during the peak season. Eighty percent of Haj pilgrims arrive at Jeddah airport before proceeding to Makkah and Madinah, in addition to the hundreds of thousands of Umrah pilgrims who arrive throughout the year.
 
According to a report in Al-Madinah daily many users have demanded an increase in the number of halls at the airport from 12 to 18. Essa Rawas, a Haj Ministry official, told the paper that the airport needed to be expanded urgently so that its capacity would match the anticipated increase in the number of travelers.
 
During Haj, the ministry coordinates with the Presidency of Civil Aviation to ensure that there is no overcrowding at the Haj Terminal. Rawas said: “In the future, we might use Hall No. 55 for pilgrims in addition to redesigning the airport.”
 
Maj. Gen. Abdul Aziz Sajeeni, director of passports, said that given the current condition of the airport, there was no room to expand. “We are forced to use the limited number of counters,” he added.
 
“In order to ease the pressure on the airport, we have done away with the embarkation and disembarkation cards. I would like to see the airport expanded; it would help both citizens and pilgrims,” he told Al-Madinah newspaper.
 
Ahmad Al-Idressi, manager of the foreign flights committee, told the paper that the airport “is suffering from overcrowding; it is a problem that grows every year. The new Umrah system has opened the door for large numbers of pilgrims to flock in all year round. This is a major cause of overcrowding. Studies show that more than nine million Umrah visitors will come to Jeddah every year in the next 10 years. We are in urgent need of expanding the airport.”
 
According top Turkish Airlines Manager Ismail Toron KAIA does not suit Jeddah; it simply cannot serve the increasing number of visitors. “We don’t see any improvement in the pilgrim city or parking spaces around the airport. There are only six halls in the airport. We could do with six more,” Al-Madinah quoted him as saying.

K.K. Jafarkhan, Arab News Staff

© Arab News 2003