News

The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) concluded its participation in the "Saudi House" initiative pavilion during the annual World Economic Forum 2025, held in Davos, Switzerland, from January 20 to 24. Organized by the Ministry of Economy and Planning, the initiative featured contributions from several government agencies.  The GACA pavilion attracted notable visitors, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and former FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who explored the latest advancements in Saudi aviation and the future of the Kingdom's air transport sector. Their engagement underscored the growing global interest in the investment opportunities offered by Saudi Arabia’s aviation sector.  During its participation, GACA hosted two high-level discussion sessions highlighting investment opportunities, incentives, and the strategic role of aviation as a key driver of Vision 2030. The sessions showcased the achievements of the Kingdom's aviation strategy, its transformation on the global stage, and the unprecedented investment opportunities available in the sector.  GACA outlined its ambitious plans to attract investments exceeding $100 billion, encompassing airports, airlines, ground services, shipping, and logistics. Over $50 billion has been allocated for airport development, approximately $40 billion for new aircraft purchase orders, and $10 billion for other projects, including $5 billion dedicated to establishing special logistics zones around the primary airports in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam.

H.E. Abdulaziz Al-Duailej, President of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), expressed his gratitude to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, following the royal decree that renewed his four-year term as GACA's president with a ministerial rank. H.E. Al-Duailej acknowledged his deep appreciation for the royal trust bestowed upon him, acknowledging the extensive support that the Kingdom's civil aviation sector receives from its wise leadership. He pledged to carry out his assigned duties to serve the Kingdom and fully meet the expectations of the country's leadership. H.E. Al-Duailej added that he and all civil aviation sector personnel, reaffirm their dedication to supporting Saudi Vision 2030 objectives, sustaining growth and achievements, and strengthening the Kingdom's position as a global aviation leader, concluding with prayers for the nation's continued security and prosperity.

The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) explored the future of the sector and its role in supporting innovation and investment during its participation in the Saudi House pavilion at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025, held from January 20 to 24 at Davos, Switzerland. GACA highlighted its efforts to transform the civil aviation sector into an engine for innovation, sustainability, and economic growth for both the Kingdom and the world, reinforcing Saudi Arabia's leadership role on the international stage. The authority discussed investment opportunities through projects and incentives offered by the Kingdom's civil aviation sector, while emphasizing aviation's position as a key driver and supporter within Saudi Vision 2030. This was demonstrated through showcasing the achievements of the aviation sector strategy and its global transformation, alongside unprecedented investment opportunities in the Kingdom launched by the strategy aimed at establishing the aviation sector as an economic growth enabler. GACA highlighted the latest developments in major civil aviation projects in the Kingdom, such as King Salman International Airport in Riyadh, which features six runways, along with public-private partnerships for the privatization and development of Abha, Taif, Hail, and Qassim International Airports. The authority also presented investment opportunities in cargo and logistics, advanced air mobility, commercial aviation, and enabling tourism and business sectors, which play prominent roles in the Kingdom's economy, through the launch of the general aviation roadmap aimed at providing advanced infrastructure, new aircraft, and more sophisticated services. During its participation, GACA discussed the general aviation roadmap and its contribution to significantly increasing GDP, targeting tenfold growth to reach $2 billion by 2030. The sector's future direction includes adopting initiatives and programs to support private aviation, aiming to attract global investors, operators, manufacturers, and service providers to strengthen the Kingdom's position as a general aviation hub, while working to align infrastructure planning and regulations across the sector. The Saudi House pavilion reflects the Kingdom's growing international role and effective influence, serving as a platform connecting entrepreneurs, change-makers, and innovators to present strategic visions on key areas shaping our world's future. It is worth noting that the Saudi House initiative is organized by the Ministry of Economy and Planning, with participation from various government entities, and will hold several dialogue sessions to discuss the latest significant trends in social and economic transformation both locally and internationally.

The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GCAA) presented its general aviation roadmap and initiatives, highlighting their contribution to significantly increasing GDP, aiming to achieve tenfold growth to reach $2 billion by 2030. This presentation took place during its participation at the Saudi House pavilion as part of the World Economic Forum 2025 annual meeting, held from January 20 to 24 in Davos, Switzerland, organized by the Ministry of Economy and Planning with participation from various government entities. GACA discussed the sector's future direction through initiatives and programs supporting private aviation to attract global investors, operators, manufacturers, and service providers, strengthening the Kingdom's position as a general aviation hub and aligning infrastructure planning and regulations across the sector. Statistically, it highlighted the importance of private aviation in the Kingdom, reporting 24% growth in flight volume during 2024, with private flights increasing from 19,000 in 2023 to 23,500 in 2024. Domestic flights increased by 26% exceeding 9,200 flights, while international flights rose by 15%, reaching 14,400 flights. The Kingdom's main airports led growth in Saudi private aviation, with King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah seeing a 30% increase in private aviation traffic, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh recording 22% growth, and King Fahd International Airport in Dammam showing a 7% increase. Eng. Mohammed bin Fahad Al-Khuraisi, Executive Vice President for Strategy and Business Intelligence at GACA, stated that the growing private aviation sector is key in supporting the Kingdom's tourism and business sectors, announcing GACA's implementation of a first-of-its-kind investment program to ensure the Kingdom provides advanced infrastructure and unprecedented private aviation services. He noted that the Kingdom's general aviation roadmap opens the private aviation sector to the world, offering $2 billion in investment opportunities for investors, operators, manufacturers, and service providers in this vital sector. Eng. Al-Khuraisi mentioned that GACA launched the general aviation roadmap during its participation in the Future Aviation Forum in May 2024, including a comprehensive transformation program to develop the general aviation sector to reach $2 billion by 2030, creating 35,000 jobs. Eng. Al-Khuraisi stated that the general aviation roadmap focuses on establishing advanced infrastructure and implementing robust regulations to create six airports dedicated to private aviation and nine private passenger terminals for private flights. It also aims to increase the number of service providers and maintenance and repair capabilities for private aircraft. He noted that an agreement was signed last December to make Jubail Airport one of six airports dedicated to general aviation in the Kingdom, with the goal of increasing the sector's current operational capabilities and developing private aviation services.

The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) participated in the Saudi House initiative during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025, held from January 20 to 24 in Davos, Switzerland. The event, organized by the Ministry of Economy and Planning, featured participation from various government entities. During its participation at the Saudi House, GACA hosted two high-level discussion sessions highlighting investment opportunities through projects and incentives offered by the Kingdom's civil aviation sector. The sessions also emphasized aviation's position as a key driver and supporter within Saudi Vision 2030, showcasing the achievements of the aviation sector strategy and its global transformation, along with unprecedented investment opportunities in the Kingdom launched by the aviation sector strategy aimed at establishing aviation as an economic growth enabler, including the aviation status report. In a session titled "The Future of Aviation," GACA's Executive Vice President for air transport and international cooperation, Ali bin Mohammed Rajab, emphasized that GACA adopts advanced strategies to attract international investments in the aviation sector by focusing on supporting sustainable growth and innovation through international partnerships, contributing to creating economic opportunities and developing Saudi competencies in the aviation sector. He noted that the Kingdom's civil aviation sector efforts extend beyond connecting global destinations, as the sector seeks to enhance international cooperation, support sustainability, and affirm the Kingdom's leading position in global aviation innovations. He stated that the Kingdom confirms its global leadership in civil aviation through its prominent role in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the Arab Civil Aviation Organization (ACAO), and by hosting global events such as the Future Aviation Forum 2024, which witnessed the signing of 102 agreements worth $20 billion. He explained that meeting increasing demand is a major challenge, as manufacturers face order backlogs and airlines struggle with operational capacity constraints. This challenge presents a significant economic growth opportunity, as the Kingdom's aviation sector contributes five times its value to the economic system and requires 279,000 additional jobs to support future expansion plans. He reported that increased air connectivity has enhanced global trade, tourism, and humanitarian efforts, with the Kingdom's aviation sector recording more than 170 destinations worldwide and increased air cargo capacity (with growth reaching 35% during 2024). In a discussion session titled "Shaping the Future of Innovation and Investment," GACA's Executive Vice President for strategy and business intelligence, Eng. Mohammed bin Fahad Al-Khuraisi, explained that the National Aviation Strategy focuses not only on infrastructure development but also seeks to transform the civil aviation sector into an engine for innovation, sustainability, and economic growth for the Kingdom and the world, enhancing the Kingdom's leadership role on the international stage." He addressed the National Aviation Strategy's targets, which aim to connect the Kingdom with more than 250 destinations and increase passenger numbers to 330 million annually. He pointed out that the strategy seeks to attract investments worth $100 billion in the civil aviation sector, including $50 billion for airports and $40 billion for new aircraft purchases, contributing to creating unprecedented opportunities for investment and growth through privatization and public-private partnerships. Eng. Al-Khuraisi reviewed the investment opportunities and incentives offered by the sector in the Kingdom and the latest developments in major civil aviation projects, including King Salman International Airport in Riyadh with its six runways, along with public-private partnerships to develop Abha, Taif, Hail, and Qassim International Airports. He also highlighted investment opportunities in cargo, logistics, advanced air mobility, commercial aviation, and enabling tourism and business sectors, which play prominent roles in the Kingdom's economy, through the launch of the general aviation roadmap aimed at providing advanced infrastructure, new aircraft, and enhanced services. The Saudi House pavilion reflects the Kingdom's growing role and effective influence in the international arena, serving as a platform connecting entrepreneurs, change-makers, and innovators to present strategic visions on key areas shaping our world's future. It's worth noting that the Saudi House initiative is organized by the Ministry of Economy and Planning with participation from various government entities and will hold several dialogue sessions to discuss the latest significant trends in social and economic transformation locally and internationally

The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has issued its December classification of air transport service providers and airports to inform passengers about their performance and help them make informed choices. The monthly assessment is based on the number of complaints filed with GACA by travellers.  According to GACA, 1,074 complaints were filed by travellers on Saudi air carriers in December 2024. SAUDIA had the fewest complaints among the airlines, 20 per 100,000 travellers, and a complaint resolution rate of 99%. Flyadeal came second, with 21 complaints per 100,000 travellers and a resolution rate of 100%. Flynas came third with 24 complaints per 100,000 travellers and a resolution rate of 100%. The most common complaints in May were about luggage, flights, and tickets.  Among international airports with more than six million passengers annually, King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah had the fewest complaints, 20 per 100,000 travellers, and a resolution rate of 96%.  Among international airports with less than six million passengers annually, Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Airport in Tabuk had the fewest complaints, one per 100,000 travellers, and a resolution rate of 100%.  Among domestic airports, Sharurah Domestic Airport had the fewest complaints, two per 100,000 passengers, and a resolution rate of 100%.  GACA reiterated that the monthly classification report aims to help passengers make informed choices, promote transparency, demonstrate its credibility and keenness to deal with travellers' complaints, stimulate fair competition, and develop and improve services.  According to the authority, multiple communication channels are open 24/7 to enable interaction with travellers and airport visitors. They are the call Center number 1929, WhatsApp service at 0115253333, email gaca-info@gaca.gov.sa, social media accounts, and GACA's website.  Through these channels, the authority receives complaints concerning boarding passes, employee behaviour, and services for persons with disabilities and limited mobility.  In support of its partners, the airports, GACA prepared a booklet containing guidelines on how to deal with traveller complaints. The booklet, which has been circulated among airport operators, sets out service agreements and the rules that must be adhered to for all types of complaints and inquiries.  The authority also trains, through regularly held workshops, employees of national airlines and ground service companies that deal directly with travellers on how to comply with passenger protection regulations.