18 May 2016
JEDDAH: Partial operations of the new Terminal 5 at King Khaled International Airport (KKIA) are set to commence on Sunday (May 22). The terminal is earmarked for domestic flights.
Tareq Alabduljabar, assistant to the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) president for airports, said the new terminal will handle both flight arrivals and departures for Saudi Arabian Airlines and nasair effective from 5 a.m. on Sunday.
The flights will continue daily till 1 p.m. Flight destinations include Sharora, Alwajeh, Turaif, Alguriat, and Hufuf. The operations will eventually cover the whole of Saudi Arabia.
Domestic operations will eventually shift fully to Terminal 5.
Alabduljabar said launching partial operations of any new terminal or airport are in keeping with international practice. They are meant to ensure the smooth transfer of passenger traffic, and ensure the safety and readiness of all the techniques and systems used in the process.
"Passengers traveling in the coming weeks should contact their airlines and know the terminal they will be traveling from," he added.
KKIA Director General Abdul-Aziz Abuharba said that passengers will be informed about the limited schedule of flight arrivals and departures of Terminal 5 by the airlines through their official websites, call centers, and mobile SMS messages. They could also source information from travel agencies, and the social media accounts of GACA and KKIA.
He said that the airport provides round-trip shuttles every 10 minutes to transfer and transit international passengers between Terminal 5 and the international terminal.
Abuharba added that the start of operations at any new terminal or airport is intertwined with a host of systems, including travel procedures, luggage transfers and conveyor belts, which are all technically interrelated.
The new terminal's construction work, which is mostly of cosmetic nature, is in progress. Also continuing is the project work related to the Metro, which will be linked directly to the terminal.
JEDDAH: Partial operations of the new Terminal 5 at King Khaled International Airport (KKIA) are set to commence on Sunday (May 22). The terminal is earmarked for domestic flights.
Tareq Alabduljabar, assistant to the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) president for airports, said the new terminal will handle both flight arrivals and departures for Saudi Arabian Airlines and nasair effective from 5 a.m. on Sunday.
The flights will continue daily till 1 p.m. Flight destinations include Sharora, Alwajeh, Turaif, Alguriat, and Hufuf. The operations will eventually cover the whole of Saudi Arabia.
Domestic operations will eventually shift fully to Terminal 5.
Alabduljabar said launching partial operations of any new terminal or airport are in keeping with international practice. They are meant to ensure the smooth transfer of passenger traffic, and ensure the safety and readiness of all the techniques and systems used in the process.
"Passengers traveling in the coming weeks should contact their airlines and know the terminal they will be traveling from," he added.
KKIA Director General Abdul-Aziz Abuharba said that passengers will be informed about the limited schedule of flight arrivals and departures of Terminal 5 by the airlines through their official websites, call centers, and mobile SMS messages. They could also source information from travel agencies, and the social media accounts of GACA and KKIA.
He said that the airport provides round-trip shuttles every 10 minutes to transfer and transit international passengers between Terminal 5 and the international terminal.
Abuharba added that the start of operations at any new terminal or airport is intertwined with a host of systems, including travel procedures, luggage transfers and conveyor belts, which are all technically interrelated.
The new terminal's construction work, which is mostly of cosmetic nature, is in progress. Also continuing is the project work related to the Metro, which will be linked directly to the terminal.
© Arab News 2016
