The new King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah is likely to become fully operational by Ramadan, according to the General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) spokesman Ibrahim Al-Ruasa.
He pointed out that since the airport’s Terminal One began operations in May 2018, over 2.5 million passengers have been transported on board 30,000 flights. Currently, Saudia is the only carrier operating from the airport, and a SAR 1 billion contract for ground services has been signed with Flynas to provide ground handling services with the airline.
Additionally, Al-Ruasa revealed that the customers will now receive a 50 percent discount on parking tickets if they are paid through self-service machines. The move follows a wave of complaints over the SAR 10 per hour price of parking at the airport, compared to SAR 3 at Jeddah’s old airport.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that Saudi Arabia recently launched a campaign to recruit as many as 20,000 nationals to replace foreign drivers working for the likes of online taxi services such as Uber and Careem. According to sources at the Public Transport Authority (PTA), the number of Saudi nationals driving taxis had risen from 100,000 in 2016 to over 600,000.
The popularity of driving jobs has increased manifold since the government lifted the ban on women drivers in 2018. The number of female Saudi drivers working at these applications had reached 2,000, and the number is rising because of the good income and safe work environment.
Additionally, the PTA and the kingdom’s Ministry of Labor and Social Development are working together to ensure Saudization regulations are being properly implemented, with fines up to SAR5,000 (US$1,333) being liable on expatriate drivers found to be working illegally.
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