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Second Phase of Development of Al-Ula Airport Completed

Al-Ula airport. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Al-Ula airport. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Second Phase of Development of Al-Ula Airport Completed

Al-Ula airport. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Al-Ula airport. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Royal Commission for Al-Ula announced on Friday the completion of the second phase of its project to develop the Al-Ula airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia.

The airport is one of the main strategic factors that will transform Al-Ula into a major tourist destination and logistic hub.

The completion of this phase of the project coincides with the Commission’s preparations to reopen the region to visitors starting October.

The second phase saw the renovation of the main building and expansion of runways to receive more aircraft. The airport will also now receive 400,000 passengers annually.

The new additions at the facility include the establishment of a VIP reception hall and better services to improve the traveler experience.

Royal Commission for Al-Ula official spokesman Saad Al-Matrafi said the airport will create job opportunities for the locals because it is a logistic hub that meets the demands of northwestern Saudi Arabia.

In cooperation with Saudi Arabian Airlines, the commission has resumed flights from Riyadh to Al-Ula, with four taking place weekly. Flights from Al-Ula to Jeddah and other cities are expected to resume soon.

In 2019, the airport received some 52,000 travelers from 855 flights.

The first phase of the development of Al-Ula airport was completed in 2019.

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Türkiye's Central Bank Lowers Key Interest Rate to 47.5%

A girl sells plastic items to people in the Kadikoy district in Istanbul, Türkiye, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A girl sells plastic items to people in the Kadikoy district in Istanbul, Türkiye, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
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Türkiye's Central Bank Lowers Key Interest Rate to 47.5%

A girl sells plastic items to people in the Kadikoy district in Istanbul, Türkiye, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A girl sells plastic items to people in the Kadikoy district in Istanbul, Türkiye, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Türkiye’s central bank lowered its key interest rate by 2.5 percentage points to 47.5% on Thursday, carrying out its first rate cut in nearly two years as it tries to control soaring inflation.
Citing slowing inflation, the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee said it was reducing its one-week repo rate to 47.5% from the current 50%.
The committee said in a statement that the overall inflation trend was “flat” in November and that indicators suggest it is likely to decline in December, The Associated Press reported.

Demand within the country was slowing, helping to reduce inflation, it said.
Inflation in Türkiye surged in recent years due to declining foreign reserves and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s unconventional economic policy of lowering rates as a way to tame inflation — which he later abandoned.
Inflation stood at 47% in November, after having peaked at 85% in late 2022, although independent economists say the real rate is much higher than the official figures.

Most economists argue that higher interest rates help control inflation, but the Turkish leader had fired central bank governors for failing to fall in line with his previous rate-cutting policies.

Following a return to more conventional policies under a new economic team, the central bank raised interest rates from 8.5% to 50% between May 2023 and March 2024. The bank had kept rates steady at 50% until Thursday's rate cut.
The high inflation has left many households struggling to afford basic goods, such as food and housing.