In two months, work will begin on the new Taif international airport, which comes as part of the wave of new projects in the northern part of the province aimed at supporting economic and developmental growth in the Kingdom’s tourism capital.
With the new airport, the General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) aims to meet the growing demand for flights to and from Taif throughout the year, as well as better serve tourists and residents.
The project will also support developmental efforts aimed at improving airport services, increasing the Haj and Umrah flights’ capacity at other ports close to the holy city, and reducing pressure and crowding at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.
The Taif Chamber of Commerce and Industry confirmed that the project will enhance development and contribute directly to supporting the growth of tourism in Taif.
Asir Gov. Prince Faisal bin Khaled was recently briefed on the work progress in the development of Abha Regional Airport Project.
The Asir governor appreciated the airport project, which is to have a dramatic impact in promoting tourism in the region in addition to providing the best air transport services. 
He made the remarks when he received a delegation from the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA).
The delegation was headed by Assistant to GACA President for Airports Tariq Abdul-Jabbar. 
He was accompanied by Southern Airports GM Fahad Aladwani and GACA’s Engineering Services GM Abdullah Alzahrani.
Abdul-Jabbar pointed out that GACA is undertaking a set of development projects in domestic, regional and international airports to keep pace with the continued growth in passenger traffic in many cities around the Kingdom. 
Abdul-Jabbar also gave an overview of the preparations in progress for developing a sound civil aviation infrastructure in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 goals. 
He mentioned that there is a continuous monitoring of the project by Minister of Transport and GACA Chairman Sulaiman Al-Hamdan, who seeks completion of the project according to the highest standards and quality.
Abdul-Jabbar also confirmed that GACA is keen to improve the design and operational efficiency of the Abha Regional Airport Project. 
He mentioned that GACA conducted a valued engineering study of the project and adjusted the design accordingly to meet the desired purpose.
The first phase of the airport development includes a new passenger terminal, in addition to 11 jet ways, car parking facility that can accommodate 3,000 vehicles and a mosque with a capacity of 1,000 worshipers. 
The project will be implemented in three phases, where it can eventually accommodate 13 million passengers annually.
The Abha airport project is part of a plan to improve and renew runways in some of the domestic airports.
The healthy increase in passenger traffic comes in line with the development of the Kingdom’s network of airports. 
This is in addition to the steady growth in air traffic and to the growing demand for air travel throughout the Kingdom.
In another development, a senior official said that Al-Ahsa Regional Airport recorded growth in passenger numbers, and in the number of domestic and international flights during the first half of 2016.  
The total number of passengers reached 89,560 on 1,174 flights compared to the same period last year of 53,177 passengers on 717 flights.
Mohammed Almejlad, director general of Central Airports, explained that the number of passengers at Al-Ahsa airport who traveled on domestic flights during the first half of 2016 totaled 29,891 on 366 flights, up 14 percent compared to the same period last year when the total number of passengers reached 22,133 on 243 flights.
Almejlad pointed out that the passengers on international flights have reached 5,669 on 808 flights, up 93 percent compared to the first half of 2015, which totaled 31,044 travelers on 474 flights.

Source: Arab News