GACA breaks fuel monopoly and will supply cheap fuel for domestic Saudi carriers

Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) has announced a plan to provide jet fuel at discounted rates for domestic flight operators and will end the state monopoly on fuel provision and handling at the Kingdom's major airports.
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"All domestic operators will be given jet fuel at equal rates and the price will be much less than what is available in the neighbouring regions," said the head of GACA, Prince Fahd bin Abdullah, according to the Arab News

GACA has been trying to encourage airlines to operate to the country’s 27 domestic airports but Saudi airlines such as NAS and the now defunct Sana have complained that subsidies given to the national flag carrier, Saudia, had led to uneven playing field.
The Kingdom has seen a 19% increase in passenger number using domestic flights and GACA has already licensed Qatar Airways and Gulf Air to operate domestic flights along with Saudi Arabian Airlines and the existing NasAir flights.
Prince Fahd also disclosed plans to license a second company to provide ground services at Saudi airports. “We have requested international companies to express their desire to provide this service.” New operators will also be licensed for catering and cargo services as part of opening up the aviation sector, he said.
The fuel – a major cost for the domestic carriers – is a major breakthrough.
Prince Fahd said that GACA plans to improve its services to passengers and airlines by developing airports with private sector support. “We want to increase GACA’s contribution to the national economy from SR 30 billion to a much higher amount considering the growing civil aviation industry,” he said.
GACA has already announced plans to a holding company to manage the country’s airports. “We’ll establish separate companies to run each international airport with world-class standard,” Prince Fahd said.

 

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