Page 257 - SHARJAH AIRPORT PR REPORT - FEBRUARY 2024

plans that will entail investments of up to US$2. 7 billion. The enhancements in capacity and
service levels over the coming 10 years have been necessitated as its home base carriers

ordered another 120 aircraft – 90 Boeing-777s for Emirates and 30 Boeing-787s for flydubai.
Sharjah, home to the Arabian Gulf’s first airport, has started work on an AED1.2 billion
(US$327 million) terminal expansion that will increase the airport’s capacity to 20 million
passengers a year. The expansion project will separate the arrivals from departures areas and
enhance its systems and amenities. It is the largest phase of expansion work being undertaken
at a total cost of AED2.4 billion and is expected to be completed in 2027. Improvements will

include additional self-check-in kiosks, electronic boarding gates, a spacious waiting zone,
dining facilities, and a transit passenger hotel. Sharjah Airport, home of the MENA region’s
largest LCC Air Arabia, added six new passenger destinations and three air cargo routes in

2023. The airport handled about 13.1 million passengers in 2022 and will be able to handle up
to 25 million passengers by 2026.
A plan is underway to transform King Abdelaziz International Airport (KAIA) in Saudi Arabia
into one of the world’s largest airports with an SR115 billion expansion plan that will increase
its capacity to 114 million passengers a year. The largest components of the plan cover the

design and expansion of Terminal 1 and the construction of a new passenger terminal to be
called Terminal 2. The expected completion date for the expansion project is 2031.
A new Hajj and Umrah terminal at the airport in Jeddah will handle 15 million passengers a
year and is expected to be completed by 2025. The airport aims to accommodate up to 120

million passengers by 2030 and 185 million by 2050. For cargo, the goal is to process 3.5
million tons a year.
Another major airport is planned for Neom, close to the Tabuk end of the 170-kilometre-long
Line development. Neom International Airport’s first phase will have the capacity to handle 25
million passengers a year. A second phase could take the capacity up to 50 million passengers

a year. There is an aspiration for the airport to become the largest in the world, with a
capacity of 100 million passengers a year. Abha International Airport will undergo a makeover
that will see its terminal grow from 113,000 square feet to 700,000 square feet.
The existing airport can handle 1.5 million passengers annually. The new one will be capable of

handling 13 million by the time the first phase of the development is completed in 2028. The
expansion will include the construction of passenger jetways, self-service facilities for
passenger check-in and baggage handling, and high-capacity parking facilities. Saudi Arabia is
building in
Riyadh one of the world’s largest airports which will have six parallel runways. The airport will

help drive annual passenger traffic to 120 million by 2030 and 185 million by 2050.
Airports in Oman are expected to witness 40 million passengers by 2030. The Sultanate
currently attracts 18 million passengers. The country currently can handle around 24 million
passengers. Officials opened new airports in Muscat and Duqm in 2019 in addition to two new

air cargo terminals. Musandam Airport is being constructed for US$250 million and is

https://globalsupplychainme.com/me-airports-expanding-in-fast-forward-mode/