RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s air traffic is witnessing substantial growth, with flight movements increasing 26 percent to 403,223 in the first half of 2023, thanks to the Kingdom’s major transformation programs, revealed a state-run air navigation firm. According to the Saudi Air Navigation Services, the total domestic and international flights reached 305,156 in the first half of 2023, increasing by 27 percent from the year-ago period. The transit flights were 98,067 between January and June, a 25 percent increase compared to the same time last year. “The aviation sector in the Kingdom is witnessing rapid growth, coinciding with the launch of many ambitious transformation programs that keep pace with the aspirations of the vision and the objectives of the national strategy for the aviation sector,” Abdulaziz Al-Zaid, CEO of SANS, said in a tweet. Moreover, the number of aircraft or flights served for maintenance, refueling and catering rose 23 percent in the first half of this year to 14,811. “The remarkable growth of air traffic in the Kingdom, which was achieved during the first half of the year 2023, with high rates of operational efficiency and safety standards, will contribute to developing the economies of the air transport sector, supporting movement and tourism, connecting the world to the Kingdom,” said Saleh Al-Jasser, minister of transport and logistic services, in a tweet, following the release of the report. Furthermore, the Kingdom’s air connectivity rose 15 percent to 7,153 destinations in the first six months compared to the same period last year. Saudi Arabia’s air connectivity also rose to 13th rank this year from 27th in 2019, according to the International Air Transport Association. Meanwhile, a report released this month by Cluster 2, a Riyadh-based firm that manages and operates 22 airports around the Kingdom, revealed that the country’s aviation sector has seen an 11 percent growth to 34,326 flights in the second quarter of 2023 from 30,898 in the same period last year. The passenger traffic also rose 17 percent to 3.16 million between April and June from 3.7 million in the same period last year. The industry witnessed new routes in the second quarter, with the commencement of operations in the Jazan-Cairo, Al Jowf-Tbilisi and Jazan-Dubai sectors. The period also saw Saudi Arabia starting operations on Al Qassim-Istanbul, Al Qassim-Trabzon and Al Qassim-Tbilisi routes.