By P.K. ABDUL GHAFOUR | ARAB NEWS

JEDDAH: The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) on Sunday opened the newly established international terminal at Prince Muhammad International Airport in Madinah that can handle 35 flights daily.

“The new terminal has the capacity to accommodate 600 passengers per hour,” GACA said, adding that the capacity would double to 1,200 passengers once the second phase of the airport project is completed.

“The second phase includes construction of the first floor, which will be completed by the end of next month,” the GACA statement said. The new terminal’s opening will improve services to pilgrims.

Meanwhile, efforts are underway to expand the airport’s aircraft parking facility to accommodate five large-size planes at a time. Earlier this year, GACA completed construction of two passenger lounges at the airport for Umrah passengers.

The Madinah airport receives a large number of Umrah flights nowadays. Since the beginning of this year’s Umrah season, the airport received more than 700,000 pilgrims who arrived and departed on 2,800 flights.