Transport

DAA International wins contract to run Saudi’s Jeddah airport

Irish company recently won contract to manage a new airport at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea development project

King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah has a capacity for over 46 million passengers a year. Photograph: Amer Hilabi/AFP

Eoin Burke-Kennedy
Barry O'Halloran
Sun Mar 27 2022 - 17:21

DAA's international arm has won a multimillion euro contract to manage Jeddah Airport in Saudi Arabia for the next five years.

DAA International, a subsidiary of the company responsible for Cork and Dublin airports, confirmed on Sunday that Saudi's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) had awarded it the contract following a competitive tender process that included several high-profile airport operators from Europe, Asia and Africa. The Irish company recently won a contract to manage a new airport at Saudi Arabia's Red Sea development project.

DAA International will lead, manage and advise on operations, aviation business development, non-aeronautical revenue and facilities management, GACA said on Sunday.

King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah was used by more than 38 million passengers in 2019 but has capacity for over 46 million passengers a year. It is located on an aerodrome of 105sq km with multiple terminals, cargo, maintenance, and repair and operations.

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Abuses

Ruled by the House of Saud, Saudi Arabia is under fire for human rights abuses, including the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in its Turkish consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

DAA maintains that as a State company, it adheres strictly to Government guidelines on the regimes and countries with which it can do business.

Nicholas Cole, chief executive of DAA International, said: "Jeddah Airport forms one of the cornerstones of the Saudi Arabian 2030 aviation vision and is the international gateway to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina."

DAA International has developed credibility over the last five years by managing and operating Terminal 5 at Saudi Arabia's King Khaled International Airport (KKIA) in Riyadh and more recently, by being appointed as the airport operator for the Red Sea Airport," he said.

“The Red Sea project will a first of its type, a sustainable luxury tourism destination and a world first,” he said.

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