Airport to witness 65pc increase in travellers during Eid holidays
Zakat House executes Iftar projects worth KD 350,000 in Ramadan
KUWAIT CITY, June 24, (KUNA): Kuwait International Airport expects a 65.46 percent rise in people flying abroad within the Eid Al-Fitr holidays in comparison to last year’s figures.
During the approximately 10day holiday starting on Friday, which comprises the occasion, travellers are expected to hit the 410,400 mark, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation deputy chairman for aviation safety told KUNA.
The number is a stark difference to the 141,700 travellers recorded in 2016, according to Emad AlJelowi, during the festive occasion which marks the end of the holy Islamic lunar month of Ramadan.
Rise
A significant factor in this year’s rise in numbers is that the holiday falls within the summer, he suggested, when schools are out and most inhabitants seek to escape the blazing hot temperatures.
The three-day occasion given as a public holiday could also stretch to 10 days if a crescent is spotted on Monday instead of Sunday — during a working week, which starts on Sunday in the northern Gulf Arab country.
The large volume of travellers has caused huge delays and malfunctions throughout the airport, which has a capacity of six million passengers but currently accepts double that amount, said the official.
It is because of this, airport officials have devised several ways to ease the burden on travelers, including allowing them to check in their luggage at midnight on the same day of intended travel.
Meanwhile, Kuwait’s Zakat House executed Iftar (fast-breaking) projects in 35 countries during the month of Ramadan, with a cost of KD 350,000 (about $1.14 million).
The project, launched in 1988, was financed by donations from philanthropists, mainly the donation of KD 100,000 by late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and philanthropist Abdullah Al-Othman of KD 42.5 thousand.
Zakat House was established by an Amiri decree issued by late Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Jaber AlAhmad Al-Sabah on April 4, 1982.
The Islamic body receives donations from philanthropist, charitable organizations and an annual funding by the government to aid poor people everywhere.