ISLAMABAD – A team of seven officials from Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) visited Islamabad Airport as part of their review of security arrangements at Pakistani airports.
Saudi Arabia’s authority is responsible for regulating air transport services and ensuring compliance with civil aviation regulations and safety standards; the team was led by Inspector Mohammad Al-Ajami.
An interesting aspect of the visit is that the Saudi team aims to assess security measures for direct flights from Pakistani airports to the Kingdom and Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority expects that on successful inspection, there is the possibility of an increased number of flights from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi team has previously visited airports in Karachi, Multan, Sialkot, and Lahore and will also visit the airport in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as part of their review.
As part of the inspection, the team is examining various security measures, including passenger and baggage screening, CCTV systems, and access to restricted areas.
“The team is inspecting the application of security measures by security service providers including ASF [Airport Security Force],” the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority stated in a statement, adding that the GACA team will also inspect security processes of cargo handlers and ground-handling agencies.”
During the visit, Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority expressed appreciation for Saudi Arabia’s Road to Makkah initiative and requested its extension to Karachi and Lahore airports to facilitate Hajj pilgrims. The GACA team agreed to forward the request to the Saudi government.
Earlier, last month Pakistan renewed ‘Road to Makkah project’ with Saudi Dignitary. As per the initiative, Hajj pilgrims are issued visas and provided other services, such as baggage facilities, at their respective countries’ airports. Not only that, the pilgrims move directly to buses to take them to their places of residence in Makkah and Madina while their luggage is delivered to them.
At present, the facility is available at the Islamabad International Airport and it is hoped that the service would be extended to other airports in the country as well.
