daa International Wins Major Contract In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Win results in an extension of daa International’s existing relationships in the Middle East
March 27, 2022, Dublin, Ireland: daa International, the daa Group's international airport management and advisory services business, has won a major contract to support, manage and advise on operations, aviation business development, non-aeronautical revenue and facilities management of King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for the next five years.
daa International has been awarded the prestigious international contract to operate King Abdulaziz International Airport by Jeddah Airports Company following a competitive tender process that included several high-profile airport operators from Europe, Asia and Africa. Jeddah has diversified its economy in recent years to tourism, transport, logistics, education, healthcare, finance and retail and wholesale trade to become an industrial powerhouse. Currently, daa International has clients in Australia, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia and the UK, providing them with airport management, operations and maintenance consultancy.
King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah has a commercial mandate similar to daa who operate Dublin and Cork airports. JEDCO, the new corporate entity recently went to the market seeking a world-class international airport operator with a proven track record and international credentials. King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah is a major international airport serving over 38 million passengers in 2019 and with a capacity for over 46 million passengers per annum. It is located on an aerodrome of 105 square kilometres with multiple terminals, cargo, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) and an immense open-air terminal for the seasonal Hajj influx. Terminal 1 alone is 800,000 square meters and is currently the second biggest terminal in the world, more than eight times bigger than Terminal 2 at Dublin Airport.
Nicholas Cole, CEO of daa International said: “King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah forms one of the cornerstones of the Saudi Arabian 2030 aviation vision and is the international gateway to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. daa International has developed credibility over the last five years by managing and operating Terminal 5 at Saudi Arabia’s King Khaled International Airport (KKIA) in Riyadh and more recently, by being appointed as the Airport Operator for the Red Sea Airport. The Red Sea Project will a first of type, sustainable luxury tourism destination and a world first.” “Based on these credentials, daa International was invited to submit its proposal along with a large number of other global airport owners and operators. We are delighted to have won this highly significant international contract. It will be a gamechanger for daa International and the entire daa Group, providing outstanding career opportunities for our team.”
“We are extremely proud to have been chosen as a result of a highly competitive tender process among such formidable global competition. We look forward to working as part of the JEDCO team led by CEO Ryyan Tarabzoni and will ensure that daa International continues to deliver on its promise to provide a world-class product to our customers and their passengers and to generate significant commercial revenues at King Abdulaziz International Airport. We also look forward to building a strategic partnership with airports in Saudi Arabia to becoming the aviation leader in the Middle East.”
In addition to the local team employed on this contract, daa International will ultimately have a team of 45 specialists in Jeddah from daa’s Irish airport operations, which will include the senior executive management within the company, who together with the JEDCO senior team will lead over 1000 staff. daa International will mobilise 15 managers over March and April with additional personnel to join the team over the following six months. This team will knowledge share and develop the Saudi Team in JEDCO to ensure that King Abdulaziz International Airport develops into one of the world’s leading hub airports.
daa Group Overview: daa is a global airport and travel retail group with businesses in 15 countries around the world. daa’s principal activities include operating and managing Dublin and Cork airports, global airport retailing through its subsidiary ARI, and international aviation consultancy through daa International. The company is state-owned and headquartered at Dublin Airport. daa International advises, manages and invests in airports and is active in the Middle East, Asia Pacific and North American markets. ARI, daa’s travel retail subsidiary, has outlets in Europe, North America, the Middle East, India and Asia-Pacific and it also holds the Group’s 20% stake in Düsseldorf Airport. ARI’s travel retail operations are at Dublin and Cork in Ireland, Montréal, Winnipeg, Halifax and Québec in Canada, Bridgetown in Barbados, Larnaca and Paphos in Cyprus, Beirut in Lebanon, Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, Muscat in Oman, Manama in Bahrain, Doha in Qatar, Delhi in India, Jakarta in Indonesia, Auckland in New Zealand, Podgorica and Tivat in Montenegro, and from June 1, 2022, eight airport locations in Portugal. The daa Group’s core purpose is to connect Ireland with the world and its vision is to be an airport industry leader.
