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His Excellency Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Duailej, President of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), chaired today in Jeddah the 18th meeting of the Steering Committee to activate the Aviation Programme. The meeting was attended by His Excellency Ahmed S. Al-Hassan, Assistant Minister of Transport & Logistic Services, along with GACA vice-presidents, CEOs, executive officials and directors representing national carriers and aviation companies operating in the Kingdom. The event was organized by Saudia Cargo.

During his remarks, President Al-Duailej congratulated the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on its re-election to the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for the 2026-2028 term. He emphasised that this milestone reflects the unwavering support of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister. He noted that the re-election underscores the international community’s trust in the Kingdom’s leadership, its strong safety record, regulatory modernisation, and its growing influence in shaping the global aviation landscape — particularly in areas of sustainability, innovation and connectivity. He affirmed that the world views the Kingdom as a trusted partner in building the future of international civil aviation.

His Excellency highlighted that the Aviation Programme contributes to advancing the air-transport industry locally, regionally and globally, fostering an attractive investment environment, and shaping the Kingdom’s aviation future to position it as the leading aviation hub in the Middle East — thus contributing significantly to the national GDP.

He noted that the third quarter of 2025 witnessed significant growth, with the total number of passengers reaching 103 million, marking a 9 percent increase compared to the same period last year. The number of flights also rose by over 5 percent, surpassing 713,000 flights.

His Excellency reaffirmed GACA’s ongoing commitment to progress and achievement, pointing out that the Kingdom will host several major international aviation events that reaffirm its global leadership in the field. Among these are the Future Aviation Forum 2026, scheduled for April in Riyadh, which will serve as a key platform to showcase Saudi Arabia’s progress and invite global leaders, airlines and investors to collaborate on shaping the next phase of aviation transformation. Additionally, Riyadh will host Routes World 2026, which will bring together global route planners and airlines to expand connectivity and strengthen the Kingdom’s network reach.

He also emphasised the importance of intensifying efforts to enhance the sector’s overall performance and strengthen civil aviation’s role in boosting competitiveness and achieving the leadership’s vision of maximising the sector’s potential for citizens and travellers alike. His Excellency praised the dedication and joint efforts of all professionals across the civil-aviation ecosystem.

For his part, Eng. Loay Mashabi, CEO and Managing Director of Saudia Cargo, stated that hosting this important meeting reflects Saudia Cargo’s strong commitment and contribution to developing the air-transport and logistics sector in line with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to position the Kingdom as a leading global logistics hub.

He also reviewed the company’s key milestones over the past period, including expansion of its international network, development of its digital infrastructure, and enhancement of fleet efficiency to strengthen global supply-chains. He highlighted the company’s ambitious future plans focused on sustainability, innovation and competitiveness.

The meeting concluded with discussions on the Aviation Programme, its key initiatives, strategies, and the alignment of national carriers’ and aviation-companies’ priorities with the programme’s objectives.

It is worth noting that the Aviation Programme aims to double capacity to over 330 million passengers annually across more than 250 global destinations, and to increase cargo capacity to 4.5 million tons by the year 2030.