Air and sea traffic on the rise amid KSA’s postCOVID-19 comeback
Saudi Arabia’s air traffic grew 43 percent in 2021 compared to the previous year, reaching 497,000 flights according to official data released by the General Authority for Statistics.
The report noted that 49 million passengers were transported in 2021, up 30 percent compared to the previous year.
According to the report, Saudi Airlines alone transported 40 million passengers in 2021.
“The results indicated that the number of arriving and departing international flights in 2021 reached nearly 126,000 with an increase of 20 percent from 2020,” said GASTAT in the report.
The report added: “The number of arriving and departing domestic flights reached nearly 371,000 with an increase of 53 percent from 2020.”
The report further pointed out that the King Khalid International Airport ranked first in the number of flights among Saudi Arabia’s airports with a share of 33 percent, followed by King Abdulaziz International Airport by 26 percent and King Fahd International Airport by 13 percent in 2021.
Shipping traffic also saw an increase over the same period — up 7 percent in 2021 compared to the previous 12 months as the Kingdom continues to work towards becoming a global logistics hub, according to GASTAT.
The authority noted that 13,200 ships reached Saudi Arabia in 2021, with Jeddah Islamic Port having the largest share with 4,100 ships, followed by the King Fahd Industrial Port in Jubail, where ship traffic reached 1,900 ships.
The report noted that the total volume of goods unloaded at all ports in Saudi Arabia reached 119.8 million tons in 2021.
Jeddah Islamic Port had the highest percentage of unloaded goods, reaching 29 percent of the total Saudi ports, followed by King Fahad Industrial Port with 22 percent.
Jazan Port had the lowest percentage of unloaded goods, amounting to 1 percent of the total ports in Saudi Arabia, the report added.
As for commercial ports, the percentage of unloaded goods in 2021 fell by 18 percent compared to a year before.
The report indicated that 51
percent of the total goods unloaded at commercial ports were that of foodstuff, making it the largest segment unloaded at commercial ports in 2021.
The total number of passengers traveling through ports in Saudi Arabia reached 652,000 in 2021, where the number of passengers increased by 33 percent compared to 2020.
The GASTAT report further pointed out that Jazan Port has the highest percentage of arriving and departing passengers, where the number of passengers reached 460,000, or 71 percent of the total number of passengers traveling through ports in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi ports retained a total capacity of 601 million tons that year, reported GASTAT.
King Fahd Industrial Port in Jubail held a capacity of 210 million tons, making it the largest of all Saudi ports. The Jeddah Islamic Port came next with a volume of 130 million tons in 2021.
According to the report, the aggregate number of stations amounted to 32 in Saudi ports — the largest number of stations pertained to King Fahd Industrial Port in Yanbu.