RIYADH: The volume of air cargo handled by airports in Saudi Arabia saw an annual rise 7 percent in 2023 to reach 918,000 tonnes, official data showed. In its latest report, the General Authority for Civil Aviation said that the Kingdom’s aviation sector strongly rebounded in 2023, with airports witnessing a 26 percent rise in passenger transportation compared to 2022. GACA said that flight facilities in Saudi Arabia transported 112 million passengers last year, which also represented a rise of 8 percent compared to 2019. The report revealed that the number of flights through the Kingdom’s airports in 2023 reached about 815,000, an increase of 16 percent compared to 2022. In 2023, airports in Saudi Arabia handled 394,000 international and 421,000 domestic journeys, the authority added. Fueled by significant growth in the Kingdom’s travel and tourism sector, 61 million international visitors and 51 million domestic passengers traveled through the region’s airports in 2023. King Abdulaziz International Airport topped the list of the leading Saudi airports in terms of the number of flights, at a rate of 30 per hour. KAIA was followed by King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, which operated an average of 27 flights per hour, while King Fahd International Airport operated 11 carriers in an hour. In February, Mohammed Al-Khuraisi, the executive vice president of strategy and business intelligence at GACA, said that Saudi Arabia’s aviation sector is expanding rapidly to meet the goal of reaching 250 destinations globally. He also added that the Kingdom jumped 14 places in the International Air Transport Association Air Connectivity Index in 2023, along with achieving the highest level of air connectivity during the year 2023 by reaching 149 destinations. Earlier this month, GACA, through its Air Transport and International Cooperation Sector, authorized China Southern Airlines to operate journeys between Riyadh and three cities in the Asian nation. As a part of the authorization, the Chinese air carrier will operate flights from Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen to the Saudi capital. This initiative is part of GACA’s continuous efforts to strengthen connectivity and broaden the Kingdom’s air transport network as part of the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.