SAUDI ARABIA. Riyadh Airports Company (RAC) has today officially opened its revamped Terminals 3 and 4 at King Khalid International Airport (KKIA) amid burgeoning passenger demand. That demand is being driven by the sustained travel recovery and the impact of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 which kicks off on 20 November.
The two terminals will initially service the expected heavy traffic levels expected to and from Qatar during the World Cup.
The demand-driven development means that duty free stores – operated by Lagardère Travel Retail’s Aelia Duty Free – will be opened on an interim basis with the planned highly ambitious retail development to take place further down the line.
Passenger traffic at KKIA has been consistently running ahead of pre-pandemic levels over recent months, which combined with the World Cup factor has driven the interim plan.
To cater to the projected strong long-term passenger traffic growth, a new airport is being built which is expected to open around 2030.
As reported, KKIA saw a continued surge in duty free sales in Q3, with turnover up by +62% compared to the same period in pre-pandemic 2019.
The impressive result was crowned by a +90% rise in duty free sales for September, again measured against the pre-pandemic benchmark.
The numbers outstripped a strong passenger traffic recovery rate at KKIA. Passenger volumes stood at 92% of 2019 levels in the first nine months, and up +77% year-on-year. The result was bolstered by record traffic in a single month this August.
International passenger numbers have been leading the growth, reaching +11% above 2019 levels in September and +8% in August. Over the whole of Q3, international passenger volumes rose +5.5%.
Food & beverage sales at KKIA in Q3 rose +21% against the same quarter in 2019 while other retail was up +12%.
