First international flights set to take-off from Jeddah’s new airport

The first international flights from Jeddah’s new King Abdul Aziz International Airport will depart on Friday.

Daily flights to Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, operated by Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia), will begin on Friday, August 9. The service will be operated from Terminal 1.

Flights to the Omani capital of Muscat will start from Saturday, with an average of four services a week, the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said.

This will bring the total number of destinations served by the new airport to 21 domestic and three international ones, it added.

Dear Guests,

kindly note that we will transfer the following first international destinations to New #Jeddah Airport “Terminal 1” starting from 9th August 2019 ✈️??#AbuDhabi #Bahrain #Muscat #SAUDIA pic.twitter.com/eTm0bkX5AC

— SAUDIA | السعودية (@Saudi_Airlines) August 7, 2019

Jeddah’s new airport had a soft launch in May 2018, with a staggered opening in phases.

Read: Saudia starts second phase of domestic flights from new Jeddah airport

Spread across 27,987 square metres, the airport will operate 46 gates, and is designed to serve about 30 million passengers annually, when fully operational.

It will also have 220 check-in counters for all flights, 80 self-service counters and five lounges for premium passengers.

It will be a “world-class resource” and “a projection of the kingdom’s ambitions to the world,” Abdulhakim Al-Tamimi, president of GACA, said last year.

“The airport provides a platform that will allow the kingdom to play a greater role as a regional hub for transport and logistics services, and support the growing number of pilgrims to the two holy mosques,” he added.