SAUDI ARABIA. King Khalid International Airport (KKIA) operator Riyadh Airports Company (RAC) has posted a new sales record for the first six months of 2023, The Moodie Davitt Report can reveal.
The result, which includes revenues from retail, food & beverage and services, shows a remarkable +66% increase against the comparable period in pre-pandemic 2019 and a +24% rise year-on-year.
Duty free – which is managed at the Riyadh gateway by Aelia Duty Free (Lagardère Travel Retail) – led the growth in the period with a highly-impressive +93% increase against the first half of 2019 and +39% over 2022.
June set a new record for KKIA duty free revenues, with sales +33% ahead of the previous high achieved in July 2022 [2022 duty free sales delivered +51% growth above 2019 with a steady flow of new records through that year – Ed].
Rocketing commercial revenues came off the back of a new single-month international passenger record in June, beating the previous high recorded in August 2022. The highest-ever passenger day at KKIA was recorded on 25 June with 106,000 total passengers travelling through the airport.
First half international passenger volume was up +22% over 2019 and +36% ahead of the 2022 comparable period. Total passengers increased +6% above 2019 and +19% ahead of the same period in 2022.
Some 33 new services to 21 countries were launched in the first half, including 11 new destinations.
Riyadh Airports Company Chief Commercial Officer Abdulaziz Al Asaker said: “We are delighted with these strong new records. June benefited from the aligning of the school holiday and Eid Al-Adha holidays, but the underlying growth remains exceptional, both commercially and with passenger growth driven by route development and strong demand.
KKIA has become the first airport in the Middle East region to receive the Welcome China certification, awarded in July, issued by the Chinese Tourism Academy, part of China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Al Asaker added: “We are also proud to be the first and only airport in the Middle East to receive the Welcome China certification, which will support further commercial growth from increased Chinese travellers using the airport. We look forward to continued progress in the second half of the year.”
RAC said the first direct flights to Beijing will commence in August, in addition to Guangzhou, which is already being served. 
