The new King Abdulaziz International Airport is expected to become fully operational by Ramadan, said a report citing a spokesperson from the General Authority of Civil Aviation (Gaca).

The airport currently offers 27 destinations, with the number of departing and arriving flights at the airport reaching 4,900 with 654,000 passengers onboard, said a report in Saudi Gazette citing Ibrahim Al-Ruasa.

He further said that over 2.5 million passengers have been transported onboard 30,000 flights since the beginning of operation of Terminal One in May 2018.

Al-Ruasa confirmed that the private sector would operate Terminal One soon in the new airport, within GACA’s endeavour to carry out the privatisation strategy.

Other improvements include the new airport parking fee, which was initially not well received by airport users. The fee has been set at SR10 per hour but following complaints, Al-Ruasa said that there is a 50 per cent discount if the fee is paid via the self-service machines.