KFIA Initiates Plans to
Attract Passengers
Thursday, 30 August 2007
Saudi Gazette
By Joe Avanceña
THE
King Fahd International Airport (KFIA) in Dammam has started wide ranging
improvement plans aimed at increasing passenger and cargo traffic, according to
Khalid K. Al-Mz'el, KFIA Director General.
He said the development plans are expected to boost further the airport role
in the Gulf region. "We have successfully negotiated for the increase in
the number of airlines using our airport and consequently similar increases in
flight frequencies," Al-Mz'el said.
In addition, more services to passengers are being implemented, including the
expansion of the duty-free shops and other amenities. The reduction of landing
fee and reduced fuel charge are also under consideration.
He said there are at present 26 international airlines, excluding Saudi
Arabian Airlines, which are flying through KFIA.
"By the end of the year, two more international airlines will be using
the airport as their major arrival and departure destinations in the
region."
During the first half of 2007, increase in passenger and cargo traffic was
noted.
Al-Mz'el said the number of passengers increased by 15 percent compared to
that of the first six months of 2006. Likewise, cargo traffic also improved by
20 percent. The movement of aircraft to and from the airport also improved by 22
percent.
KFIA has been losing passenger traffic to Bahrain International Airport
because of the preference of travelers to fly from the Manama airport, which
offers more amenities and conveniences than KFIA. Most passengers from the
Greater Dammam Area also prefer to fly via Bahrain because of its accessibility
via the King Fahd Causeway. "We are not telling passengers to fly from
KFIA. Hopefully, with the improvement plans we have initiated, more traffic in
both passengers and cargoes will be achieved in very near future," Al-Mz'el
told Saudi Gazette.
He said that by the end of 2007, over 4.5 million passengers would have used
KFIA as their embarkation and arrival points. The airport has the capacity to
accommodate some 16 million passengers in the future.
KFIA, located some 60 km from the Greater Dammam area, is the third major
international airports in the Kingdom after King Khalid International Airport in
Riyadh and King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.
It is the largest airport in the world in terms of area, covering some 780
square km and slightly bigger than the neighboring state of Bahrain.
It was completed in 1999, serving mostly passengers from Dammam, Dhahran, Al-Khobar,
and the neighboring cities in Eastern Province.
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