Swissport International, the global leader in airport ground services and air cargo handling, has added AlUla, a rising international tourism hotspot, to its growing network of airports in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 

Prince Abdul Majeed bin Abdulaziz International Airport at AlUla  (ULH) is Swissport’s sixth airport in the kingdom.

The first flight serviced by Swissport was a Royal Jordanian flight arriving from Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, Jordan. It will provide Royal Jordanian with passenger services and ramp handling at AlUla.

Initially, Swissport will handle two weekly flights to and from Amman. The company expects flight volumes in Saudi Arabia to grow significantly as more airlines add destinations or increase frequencies in the thriving kingdom.

"We are delighted to be able to offer our high-quality aviation services at Al-Ula and are honored by the trust our launching customer Royal Jordanian places in us," said Chris Browne, CEO of Swissport Saudi Arabia.

“Jointly with Asyad Holding, our Saudi joint-venture partner, we have ambitious plans and are committed to contributing towards the Saudi Vision 2030, which will place the Kingdom’s aviation sector in the ivy-league of global aviation,” said Dirk Goovaerts, Swissport’s CEO for Continental Europe, Middle East, and Africa.

Al-Ula is an ancient Arabian oasis and market town on the historic Incense Route that connected India and the Persian Gulf with the Levant and Europe.

Today, it is one of the growing tourism destinations in Saudi Arabia, known for its landscape of cliffs, gorges and wadis and the contrast between this arid environment and the palm-covered oases. In 2023, Al-Ula airport welcomed more than two million passengers.

Swissport has been present in Saudi Arabia since 2016 when it started its operations in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam. The company has since continuously expanded its business and turned its presence from a greenfield start-up into an established business with a broad customer base of regional and international carriers.

Swissport and Asyad Holding, a diversified, family-owned Saudi holding group with significant business activities in and outside Saudi Arabia across multiple sectors including aviation and infrastructure, recently joined forces to unlock the full growth potential in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. – TradeArabia News Service