Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Huge expansion planned for Saudi’s Abha airport

By Gavin Gibbon
The expansion of Abha International Airport in south-west Saudi Arabia means It will handle 90,000 flights per year, three times the current amount Reuters/Nael Shyoukhi
The expansion of Abha International Airport in south-west Saudi Arabia means It will handle 90,000 flights per year, three times the current amount

Abha International Airport in the south-west of Saudi Arabia is to expand to more than six times its current size.

The plans, revealed this week by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, will see the terminal area of the airport increased to 65,000 square metres.

It includes the construction of passenger boarding bridges, self-service facilities and parking areas.

This first phase of the expansion is scheduled to complete in 2028, according to a report by state-run Saudi Press Agency.

The airport’s capacity will increase to accommodate over 13 million passengers annually, a tenfold rise from the current 1.5 million capacity. 

It will also handle more than 90,000 flights per year, three times the annual amount currently handled. 

Additionally, the new airport will feature 20 gates, along with 41 check-in counters with 7 new self-service check-in areas.

The renovated airport is expected to play a major role in Saudi Arabia’s ambitions to increase air connectivity to 250 destinations and transport 330 million passengers annually through its Vision 2030 program.

Earlier this week Red Sea Global, the developer behind the huge regenerative tourism giga-projects, The Red Sea and Amaala in the west coast of the kingdom, welcomed its first guests to the new Red Sea International Airport (RSI).

Saudi Arabian flag carrier Saudia operates two flights a week to and from Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport to RSI.

The kingdom has targeted a goal of attracting 150 million visitors by 2030.

Latest articles

Saudi US China Amit Medha

Saudi Arabia willing to drop China for US tech alliance

Saudi Arabia will sever technology ties with China if the United States compels it to, the chief executive officer of Alat, an investment company backed by $100 billion in capital from the Public Investment Fund, has revealed. According to Bloomberg US officials have told their Saudi Arabian counterparts that they will have to decide between […]

Investors at the Dubai Financial Market. Drake & Scull was suspended from trading in 2018

Drake & Scull losses narrow before return to trading

Dubai contractor Drake & Scull International has trimmed its losses in the first quarter of this year as it nears the end of a drawn-out capital restructuring process. The Dubai-based utilities and infrastructure engineering company said in a press release accompanying disclosures to the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) that revenue jumped 55 percent year on […]

Gas Pump, Machine, Pump

Adnoc Distribution to expand as earnings rise

Adnoc Distribution plans to open 15 to 20 more fuelling stations in 2024 after opening eight in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt in the year so far. The expansion increased fuel and non-fuel sales, driving revenue up by over 9 percent year on year to AED8.7 billion ($2.4 billion) in the three months to […]

Patrick Pouyanné, CEO of TotalEnergies, said last month that he expects the first phase of the project to be completed in 2025

Iraq forges ahead with plans for first big solar plant

Iraq is proceeding with its first large-scale solar plant, which will be constructed by France’s TotalEnergies. The 1GW plant will be built in Basra, southern Iraq, as part of a $27 billion investment agreement for an integrated project that includes four oil, gas and renewables facilities. According to reports it will supply clean electricity equivalent […]