HRH Prince Turki bin Talal bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Asir Province in Saudi Arabia, inaugurated the expansion of Saudi Arabia’s Abha International Airport (AHB), one of the many projects by the Kingdom’s General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) as part of its strategic plan to contribute to the Vision 2030 program to diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy away from oil.

 The airport development project, aims at increasing operational capacity of the airport, includes the expanded arrival and departure lounges and rehabilitation and improvement of the main runway, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

The departure lounge has been expanded to reach 805 sq m, accommodating about 309 passengers, and the arrival lounge has also been expanded as a 1,030 square meter structure accommodating 340 passengers.

Two gates each for departure and arrival are also available, as well as a luggage carousel and additional passport counters.

The enlarged parking space for aircraft can now accommodate 13 planes at a time while the runway has been expanded to accommodate wide-body aircraft.