Riyadh – Mubasher: King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) in Jeddah has announced commencing pilot operations in the new airport (terminal 1).

A domestic flight has departed from Al-Qurayyat to Jeddah as part of the airport’s soft opening, the KAIA said via its official Twitter account on Tuesday.

KAIA's first trial week comes one week later than previously forecast. In May, the Saudi General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) said it would begin trial operations on 7 Ramadan or Wednesday, 23 May.

The official start of operations for KAIA is slated for the beginning of 2019.

KAIA’s first week of experimental operation will see a few flight services through two of it gates, Saudi Gazette reported. The number of operational gates will be increased to six in the second week of trial operations, then to 11 and 17 gates in August and September, respectively.

KAIA is located 19 km north of Jeddah and regarded as a world-class iconic and high-tech gateway to the Two Holy Mosques.