Saudi GACA Revenues Jump 5%

Saudi GACA Revenues Jump 5%
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Saudi GACA Revenues Jump 5%

Saudi GACA Revenues Jump 5%

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) revealed that the Kingdom’s aviation sector is undergoing core changes, especially as it expands its network of international airports.

The GACA pointed out to seven domestic airports being turned international, bringing the number of international airports in the Kingdom up to 13. A few years ago, the Kingdom only had three international airports.

This upgrade has contributed to an overall 5 percent increase in revenues.

In light of the growing importance of the airport industry, Saudi Arabia sees the civil aviation sector as a leading economic contributor that directly influences GDP.

According to the GACA, the aviation sector in the Kingdom saw an overall increase in revenues, which included subsidiaries, during 2018. Revenues amounted to more than SR8.8 billion ($2.3 billion), an increase of approximately 5 percent when compared to 2017.

Official data showed that 2018 saw an 8 percent jump in the number of passengers and flight traffic across the Kingdom’s airports.

The number of passengers in 2018 exceeded 99.86 million, while the number of flights at Saudi airports reached 771,800, an increase of 4.1 percent compared to 2017.

The GACA aims to develop and improve services provided to passengers at the Kingdom's airports.

In a comprehensive report, the GACA showed that the satisfaction rate of passengers with the quality of services provided at airports in 2018 was at 70 percent.

The number of applicants surveyed by the report reached more than 8 million passengers.



German Central Bank Chief: US Tariffs Would Eat Up German Growth in 2025

President of the Bundesbank, Dr Joachim Nagel, speaks during an interview at the G20 finance meeting in Durban, South Africa, on July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Rogan Ward
President of the Bundesbank, Dr Joachim Nagel, speaks during an interview at the G20 finance meeting in Durban, South Africa, on July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Rogan Ward
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German Central Bank Chief: US Tariffs Would Eat Up German Growth in 2025

President of the Bundesbank, Dr Joachim Nagel, speaks during an interview at the G20 finance meeting in Durban, South Africa, on July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Rogan Ward
President of the Bundesbank, Dr Joachim Nagel, speaks during an interview at the G20 finance meeting in Durban, South Africa, on July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Rogan Ward

The Bundebank expects growth of 0.7% in Germany in 2026 but this could be eaten up if US tariffs of 30% threatened by President Donald Trump were implemented, the central bank's President Joachim Nagel told Reuters in an interview.

“If tariffs materialize in August, a recession in Germany in 2025 cannot be ruled out,” Nagel said in Durban, South Africa, where the meeting of G20 finance chiefs is taking place on Thursday and Friday.

The 30% tariff on European goods threatened by Trump would, if implemented, be a game-changer for Europe, wiping out whole chunks of transatlantic commerce and forcing a rethink of its export-led economic model.

“The outlook for the German economy has just improved, especially due to the fiscal program that has been announced and is now being implemented by the German federal government, which also sets the right accents: investments in infrastructure, in future technologies,” Nagel said. “But this uncertainty could significantly weaken a positive outlook.”

Also, German Finance Minister Klingbeil told Reuters on Thursday that the European Union should find solutions to its finances without using common borrowing.

Klingbeil said the EU had joint debt in the last few years, but that was in a crisis situation during the COVID pandemic, he said in an interview on the sidelines of a G20 meeting in Durban, South Africa.

“Overall, we need to resolve the finances of the EU differently than through a policy of joint debt,” he said.

“Fortunately, we are not in such a crisis right now,” he added.