New Riyadh airport terminal opens for business
aTP- Arab tourism portal- Saudi Arabia’s first privately run airport terminal opened to the public on Sunday.Terminal 5 at King Khalid International Terminal in Riyadh, which handles domestic services, saw flag-carrier Saudia and Flynas operate flights to five destinations.Flights to 13 destinations in total being added this week.
A spokesman from the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) told Arab News that the terminal would be fully operational in three weeks.
The terminal, which has a capacity of 12 million passengers per year, can accommodate 16 narrow-body or eight wide-body aircraft, and will feature 60 check-in desks.
It also has 4,500 square metres of retail and food and beverage outlets.Earlier this year, the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) was chosen to manage and operate the terminal for an initial five-year period from among five other aviation companies from Europe, Asia and Africa.
In January, Saudi Arabia said it would allow foreign companies to invest in local airports without the need for local partners.
The kingdom plans to privatise its international and domestic airports by 2020, GACA officials said at a news conference.As part of the process, some would first be "corporatised" – restructured to operate like a company while remaining state owned, the officials said.
