The Red Sea International Airport which is being developed as part of the Red Sea Project and tourism development in Saudi Arabia is officially gearing up for its grand opening by mid-2023. The facility will focus on serving domestic arrivals. Thereafter, it plans to expand its operations toward accommodating international flights by 2024.
CEO of Red Sea Global (RSG), John Pagano revealed that the airport’s design features a comprehensive boutique facility. Moreover, its inspiration stems from the natural beauty of the surrounding desert landscape. Quite impressively, it will stand as the region’s only airport to include a dedicated runway for seaplanes. The Red Sea International Airport Project will be able to handle aircraft of all scales. These include Airbus A380 to private jets.
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Development of the Red Sea International Airport Project
On 13 July 2020, the project awarded its development contract to an all-Saudi joint venture between Almabani alongside Nesma & Partners. Thereafter, on 5 January 2021, Daa International got on board as the official operator via the signing of a $266 million agreement. The international subsidiary will oversee the project’s development and operation. In addition to corporate and financial services, Daa International will also provide aviation services as well as airfield and terminal operations.
Overall, the project aims to support the creation and construction of a sustainable gateway. Similar to the rest of Red Sea GLobal‘s infrastructure, the project’s source of power will solely be from renewable energy. In fact, the development is set to become the first carbon-neutral airport, especially within the Middle East. The airport development will feature state-of-the-art amenities including high-quality restaurants and a spa. Approximately, it is said to serve about one million passengers.
Taking it a step further, the facility will have no baggage claims area. Instead, John Pagano explained, luggage will be delivered to guest’s hotel rooms, in order to shorten processing times. Conclusively, John Pagano said that the Red Sea International Airport Project will benchmark new standards, especially in sustainable aviation.
