Saudi aviation sector set to grow on Jeddah's new hub status

Saudi Arabia’s aviation sector is set to witness an impressive growth in the coming years, given Jeddah's positioning as an international hub and proximity to Makkah, Arab News reported, citing a senior Boeing executive.

“Saudi Arabia has got a similar geography (to other Gulf hubs) but a bigger local market, so there’s definitely a lot of potential still be to realized,” said Darren Hulst, senior managing director for market analysis for commercial airplanes, Boeing.

He added that Jeddah was not just a "sixth freedom market", but has a domestic market that can feed an international operation.

“If you combine that with the infrastructure you’re getting with the new expanded airport in Jeddah, you could make it into a world-class local and connecting hub.

"Not only do you have the throughput and transit potential, but with the high-speed link to Makkah it becomes even more attractive because you have a destination to market in addition to a connecting itinerary,” he noted.

Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport, which commenced operations on a soft launch basis in May, will have a capacity to handle up to 80 million passengers a year when it becomes fully operational.

The airport is to be connected to Makkah and Madinah via the Haramain high-speed rail project, due to be completed later this year, which is predicted to transport around 60 million passengers per year.

Meanwhile, Hulst said the outlook for the Middle East remains as "a robust due to its geographic location while the fundamentals of carriers’ business remain strong."