Taking a leaf out of Dubai’s book

A few months ago. I read a report that the new airport in Jeddah would be completed by the middle of this year. ‘Mid-2016’ was what one official boasted. To someone who has long grown accustomed to such promises, I held back from gushing with joy, because in the past, such announcements had proved to be no more than public relations stunts aimed at mollifying an increasingly irritated army of passengers and patrons.

I distinctly remember a visit to the airport by the then king of Saudi Arabia, the late Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, in 2009, who, after being shown a series of models and slides, had bluntly asked the airport director when would the airport be fully operational? The visit was captured on national television and highlighted the king’s concern for the welfare of the people.

The director of the airport boldly claimed to Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz that the project would be completed by 2012 and Jeddah’s new airport would be ready to usher in passengers. It is unfortunate that by the time 2012 came, the king had fallen into a series of illnesses that limited his focus to the more pressing issues facing the country.

In January of 2014, Prince Fahd Bin Abdullah, President of the General Authority of Civil Aviation, had stated that the “new King Abdul Aziz International Airport, with world-class facilities, will be ready by the end of the year”.

We will be sliding into 2017 in less than seven months from now, but the airport is still not ready.

In the time that it has taken for modifications at Jeddah airport to get off the ground, the civil aviation authority in Dubai has added Terminals 2, 3 and a new concourse at Dubai International Airport, while a spanking new airport has come up — Al Maktoum International — in Jebel Ali, on the outskirts of the city. The new airport was inaugurated in 2010, in spite of the global financial meltdown.

What makes Jeddah airport more noteworthy than others in Saudi Arabia, is that it is the primary gateway to visitors to the holy shrines in Makkah and Madinah who fly in from abroad. It is where first impressions of the country are formed.

And this airport has been severely criticised in the past for the lax manner of airline staff, substandard facilities, as well as delays at customs and immigration. Tired and haggard after long trips, passengers have often complained about long waiting periods at immigration counters.

And once out of the airport, passengers have to grapple with yet another problem — that of hordes of Saudi men dressed in white and all asking, “Taxi! You need Taxi?’ Sometimes passengers are terrified by their bizarre demands. One passenger recounts: “After being made so many offers, I asked one person, ‘How much?’ and he promptly replied, ‘Two hundred’.

I ignored him and started walking towards the taxi queue outside the terminal building. But these persistent drivers followed us and brought the fare down to 150 Saudi riyals (Dh147). I rejected the offer and said I would pay 50 riyals since I didn’t stay too far from the airport.

“There were men with badges who acted as if they were officials, trying to maintain order in the queue. There were dozens of taxis waiting, but all were interested in picking up only 150-riyal customers, not less.

Harassment of passengers

He added: “This is shameful and very intimidating, because no taxi tout should be allowed in the airport arrival hall. Taxis should be centrally controlled by the authorities, as is the practice in most international airports. This first experience at the airport is the worst possible welcome a visitor can have. It is unfortunate that harassment of passengers happens at a place where it is actually much easier to control public amenities.”

In contrast, visitors to Dubai, after clearing passport control and customs, stand in an orderly taxi queue and get into the vehicle when their turn comes, without a word being spoken. There is no haggling or bargaining.

So a word of advice for airport authorities in Saudi Arabia — learn from your counterparts in Dubai.

While a refurbished Jeddah airport will probably be ready by this or the following year, why not take care of the little things that can be done right now to ensure an improved airport experience, such as preventing taxi touts from soliciting exhausted passengers.

It is not rocket science.

Tariq A. Al Maeena is a Saudi socio-political commentator. He lives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. You can follow him on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/@talmaeena.