Dhaka: Jeddah Airports announced that King Abdulaziz International Airport served over 42.7 million passengers in 2023, reflecting a growth rate of 36 per cent compared to the 31.4 million passengers recorded in 2022, marking the highest annual passenger statistic in its history.

According to Jeddah Airports' 2023 statistical report, the total number of flights reached 250,000, a 25 per cent increase compared to 2022, which recorded 200,000 flights. Additionally, during the year, the airport handled over 33.8 million bags, and its Terminal 1 ranked first with 179.9 thousand flights, a 16 per cent increase compared to 2022, which recorded 154.6 thousand flights.

In 2023, the number of international destinations at the airport experienced a growth of over 11 per cent, totaling 126 routes operated to-and-from the airport, compared to 114 routes in 2022.

Among these international destinations, the Cairo-Jeddah route stood out as the most popular, serving 4.8 million seats and ranking as the second busiest international route worldwide. Additionally, the Riyadh-Jeddah route witnessed the highest demand for domestic flights, with 7.8 million seats, securing its position as the eighth busiest domestic route globally.

In an operational milestone, Jeddah Airports hit a record-breaking day on June 22, 2023. As the number of passengers reached 151,000, surpassing the busiest day in 2022, which showed 125,000 passengers.

As of the busiest week in 2023, December 24 to 30, was the busiest with a total of 979,000 passengers. This marked an increase compared to the busiest week recorded in 2022 with 815,000 passengers on November 26 to December 2.