Jeddah airport contract expands daa international’s presence in Saudi Arabia

Following what it described as a highly competitive tender process, daa International has been awarded a five-year management contract for King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Working in partnership with JEDCO, daa International will manage and advise on operations and non-aeronautical revenue and facilities management at KAIA.

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The international subsidiary of Irish airport operator, daa, has developed credibility and a strong presence in Saudi Arabia over the past five years by managing and operating Terminal 5 at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport (KKIA) and, more recently, been appointed airport operator at the Red Sea Airport.

The latter is part of an ambitious Red Sea project, a first of type, based on the creation of a sustainable luxury tourism destination.

According to daa International, it will ultimately have 45 people based in Jeddah who will integrate seamlessly into the JEDCO team, creating a shared knowledge transfer culture and working together to develop KAIA into one of the worlds leading hub airports.

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.”