Jazeera Airways has signed a contract with Swissport Saudi Arabia, a subsidiary of Swissport International - a leading provider of ground and air cargo services to the aviation industry - for ground handling services at two airports.

The new agreement will see Swissport Saudi Arabia provide ground handling services at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh, making it Swissport's launch customer in the Saudi capital.

Jazeera Airways is the largest airline serving the Middle East from Kuwait. Swissport will provide Jazeera Airways with comprehensive ground handling services including passenger and ramp handling, baggage services, operations coordination and load control.

The start of the operations is scheduled for June 1 at both airports, serving nine weekly flights in Jeddah and five weekly flights in Riyadh with potential room for expansion.

Abdulla Al-Hudaid, Jazeera's chief operating officer, said: "We look forward to our new relationship with Swissport Saudi Arabia, whose recent entry into the Saudi market as a second ground handling services provider reflects the continued development of the Kingdom's aviation sector. We thank Saudi's General Authority for Civil Aviation for opening the door to private operators, thus bringing fair competition and more choice for Jazeera Airways and our customers.

Swissport Saudi Arabia's chief executive officer Thomas Bommer added: "The new contract is an important further achievement for us, and enables us to start our quality ground handling services at King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh. We are looking forward to a long term partnership with Jazeera Airways." - TradeArabia News Service