Saudi aviation authority transfers seven destinations to new Jeddah terminal

JEDDAH: The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) announced Wednesday the transfer of five international and two domestic destinations to Terminal 1 at the new King AbdulAziz International Airport in Jeddah.

The domestic destinations are from Jeddah to Dammam and Qassim, while the international destinations are from Jeddah to Cairo, Beirut, Khartoum, Kuwait and Nairobi.

The transfer will start on Dec. 29, via round-trip flights on the national carrier Saudi Arabian Airlines, and brings the total number of domestic and international destinations that have been transferred to the new airport to 42.

Terminal 1 has a total area of 810,000 square meters and a capacity for handling 30 million passengers a year. It will be able to accommodate up to 70 aircraft simultaneously, including the Airbus A380 superjumbo jet.

It is estimated to be one of the largest terminals in the world, and the long-term goal is to handle more than 80 million passengers per year by 2035.

GACA said the plan for the transfer of flights to Terminal 1 was made in cooperation with airlines.

The transfer will progressively increase and the movement of flights would be gradual to ensure efficient operations at Terminal 1.

Earlier, Saudi Arabian Airlines transferred its operations of 35 domestic and international destinations to Terminal 1.

King Salman in September officially inaugurated Terminal 1, one of the biggest infrastructure projects undertaken in the Kingdom.