Riyadh: Saudi Arabia has opened the new Arar airport in its Northern Borders Province with a capacity to serve one million passengers annually and more than 10,000 flights per year, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The new terminal at Arar airport was inaugurated on Wednesday by the governor of Saudi Arabia’s Northern Borders Region Prince Faisal bin Khalid bin Sultan and Saudi Transport Minister Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser.

The new Arar airport has started its trial operation—first arrival and departure flight that took place in December last year.

According to Arab news, General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) statistics show that 346,000 passengers used Arar airport in 2018 and with the new terminal it can now accommodate more than one million passengers.

According to Saudi’s GACA, the airport project is built at a cost of SAR382 million. It is initially being served by flights to and from the capital Riyadh operated by Saudi Arabian Airlines and considered a “qualitative shift in the field of air transport for the northern border region”.

It features an advanced luggage handling system with two conveyor belts, ten check-in counters and twelve passport control counters in the arrival area and eight counters in the departure area. The car park can accommodate 616 vehicles.