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Jeddah airport ranked the ‘worst in facilities’

October 17, 2016

Jeddah, Oct 17: King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah (KAAI) topped the list of the worst airports in the world for 2016, says the website “The Guide to Sleeping in Airports,” which evaluates the overall airport experience based on the views of passengers.

airport

The website recently announced the list for the worst 10 airports around the world. Every year, the website conducts a survey of the services offered for passengers who spend extended periods within the airports’ premises, and the comfort and sleeping accommodations provided for them.

The Jeddah airport jumped to the No. 1 spot on “Worst Airports in the World” list. All aspects of the terminals need serious improvement. “Though JED continually promises that ‘next year’ travelers will see a new terminal, clean toilets and more amenities, a semblance of organization has yet to appear. Instead, when the passengers arrive at Jeddah’s Haj Terminal, they walk into a terminal where cleanliness is but a mythical concept,” according to the website.

The website said, the place is said to be staffed by a team of immigration officers described as “careless,” “arrogant” and “rude,” and amenity-wise, the terminal is devoid of restaurants, shopping and entertainment.

The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said Jeddah airport’s southern terminal was originally designed to receive 6 million passengers, while now it receives 17 million passengers. Therefore, it is necessary to build anew airport in Jeddah.

Media and Public Relation Department at GACA Abdullah Al-Kharif said that the website of “The Guide to Sleeping in Airports” was a personal blog of sleeping experiments in airports, and then it was transformed to a website of evaluating airports in the world. The website’s classification is not based on specific standards to evaluate airports.

Speaking to Arab News, Al-Kharif said that a delegation of experts will visit international airports in upcoming weeks to evaluate these airports. Al-Kharif, however, said feedback is important to improve services at Saudi airports.

The evaluation focuses on specific factors concerning the airport experience such as hygiene issues and cleanliness, the services and facilities provided, customer service, comfort, sleeping areas and restaurants, dining options and cleanliness in toilets.

Juba International Airport in South Sudan came second on the list of the worst airports, followed by Port Harcourt International Airport, Nigeria and Tashkent International Airport in Uzbekistan.

Comments

Naren kotian
 - 
Tuesday, 18 Oct 2016

Darvesi country ...darvesi people ....avara raja kumara ...2030 ge full change maadi bidthananthe.....these wahabis are fit for nothing ........they think they are devara maklu ....papa illinda chumma sigathe ummah concept moolka ankondu hogorige toilet and bathroom kelsasa kodthare ...I heard many ummah gang even do mala horo paddathi in Saudi

irshad
 - 
Monday, 17 Oct 2016

i experienced this on my trip to Umrah in 2014 ....still they were using windows XP.....and they made me wait more than 1 hour in standing while i was holding my kid ....and no one to take care .........police men (Emigration staff ) were talking to each other and having Fun themselves....

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News Network
March 24,2020

Mar 24: Saudi Arabia has recorded its first death from the coronavirus in a 51-year-old Afghani resident, Health Ministry spokesman Mohammed Abdelali told a televised news conference on Tuesday.

The man's health deteriorated quickly after reporting to a hospital emergency room in the city of Medina and he died on Monday night, Abdelali said.

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Agencies
July 31,2020

Makkah, Jul 31: Organising this year's scaled-down hajj required "double efforts" by Saudi authorities amid the coronavirus pandemic, King Salman said Friday after being discharged from hospital following gall bladder surgery.

Only up to 10,000 people already residing in the kingdom are participating in this year's pilgrimage, compared with 2019's gathering of some 2.5 million from around the world.

"Holding the ritual in the shadow of this pandemic... required reducing the numbers of pilgrims, but it obliged various official agencies to put in double efforts," 84-year-old King Salman said in a speech read out on state television by acting media minister Majid Al-Qasabi.

"The hajj this year was restricted to a very limited number of people from multiple nationalities, ensuring the ritual was completed despite the difficult circumstances," he said.

The speech came on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, the Muslim festival of sacrifice, a day after the king left hospital following a 10-day stay for surgery to remove his gall bladder.

The hajj, which began on Wednesday, is one of the five pillars of Islam and a must for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime.

Authorities implemented the "highest health precautions" during the rituals, the king said.

Pilgrims, who were all tested for the virus, are required to wear masks and observe social distancing.

For Friday's "stoning of the devil", the last major ritual of the hajj, Saudi authorities offered the pilgrims pebbles that were sanitised to protect against the pandemic.

In a sign that its strict measures were working, the health ministry reported no coronavirus cases in the holy sites on Wednesday or Thursday.

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January 15,2020

Asia, Jan 15: Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Wednesday said that killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani showed the ignorance and arrogance of the United States and asserted that Washington looks at things from their perspective and not keeping the interests of the region in mind."The US looks at things from their perspective, not from the perspective of this region. The killing of Qassem Soleimani shows ignorance and arrogance. 430 Indian cities saw protests against killing of Soleimani," Zarif said at an event.

Hitting out at US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, Zarif said that they were the only ones, along with the Islamic State (ISIS) who celebrated the death of Soleimani.

"Who is celebrating Soleimani's killing? President Trump, Pompeo and Daesh (Arabic name of ISIS). You wonder about strange bedfellows?" he said.

Tensions between the US and Iran soared dramatically earlier this month after Washington launched airstrikes at Baghdad International Airport, which killed Soleimani. Tehran retaliated by firing a volley of ballistic missiles at two military bases of US-led coalition forces in Iraq, leading to a strife in the region.

However, Zarif regretted the shooting down of the Ukrainian airline and said it happened because of "tension".

"Nine million people were out in the streets of Iran commemorating Soleimani. You cannot bring out so many people to protest. The shooting down of a plane was a mistake. 180 families are mourning the loss of their dear ones. It happened because of tension," he said.

Asked whether there a chance of a diplomatic solution to the ongoing crisis, Zarif ruled out negotiating with the US.

"Iran is interested in diplomacy. We are not interested in negotiating with the US. US did not keep its commitments under nuclear deal. We had a US deal and the US broke it. If we have a Trump deal, how long will it last?" he said.

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