Al-Maha, Saudi Gulf to launch operations in Q4-2015: GACA chief

Al-Maha Airways and Saudi Gulf Airlines will launch flights in the fourth quarter of 2015, said Sulaiman Al-Hamdan, president of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA). 

The airlines are completing the paperwork required by the regulator, he added shrugging off any obstacles to operation.

Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al-Baker said in January that complicated bureaucracy has been delaying the launch of Qatar’s Saudi-based start-up Al-Maha Airways. 

He added Al-Maha’s operations are expected to begin within six to 18 months maximum, though they were scheduled in December 2014, according to data available on Argaam. 

The new Jeddah King Abdulaziz International Airport project has reached final stages, the Saudi Press Agency quoted Al-Hamdan as saying. 

“We’re looking forward to completing the project by the end of this year. The airport will open and an operator will be selected later on as scheduled,” he added.

GACA vowed to expand and develop several local, regional and international airports. This expansion of King Khaled International Airport is due in 2019.

GACA seeks to assign airport operation to specialized companies. The construction and operation of Madinah-based Prince Mohammad Bin Adbulaziz International Airport in partnership with the private sector was the first to be implemented on the basis of the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model. 

Al-Taif Airport, new Jeddah King Abdulaziz International Airport and King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh will be tendered on the same basis, Al-Hamdan added. 

GACA aims to make profit by investing in these airports in the future, the authority’s president said.