London, United Kingdom: The UK Civil Aviation Authority (UK CAA) and the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on civil aviation technical cooperation.
Witnessed by Richard Moriarty, Chief Executive at the UK CAA and His Excellency Mr Abdulhakim bin Mohammed Al Tamimi, President of GACA, the agreement was signed by the CAA’s International Director, Mr Ben Alcott and Dr. Bader S. Al Sagri, Deputy Assistant President for Economic Policies and Air Transport of GACA. The MoU supports future collaboration between the two aviation regulators, to help Saudi Arabia enhance its aviation oversight capability and modernise its aviation economic structure.
In 2017, over half a million people[1] flew on direct routes between the UK and Saudi Arabia. By 2027, total international arrivals are expected to almost double in Saudi Arabia to over 31 million tourists[2].
After the signing, Alcott said, “We are delighted to have signed this agreement with Saudi Arabia, and we look forward to growing our relationship with GACA. With significant air traffic growth projected between the UK and Saudi Arabia, the UK CAA is fully committed to helping GACA modernise its regulatory system.”
For more information or media enquiries, please email international@caa.co.uk
The MoU is signed by Dr. Bader S. Al Sagri, Deputy Assistant President for Economic Policies and Air Transport of GACA and Mr Ben Alcott, International Director at the UK CAA. Witnessed by His Excellency Mr Abdulhakim bin Mohammed Al Tamimi, President of GACA and Mr Richard Moriarty, Chief Executive at the UK CAA.
[1] UK Civil Aviation Authority. Airport Data 2017. Table_12_1_Intl_Air_Pax_Route_Analysis.
https://www.caa.co.uk/Data-and-analysis/UK-aviation-market/Airports/Datasets/UK-Airport-data/Airport-data-2017/
[2] World Travel and Tourism Council. Economic Impact 2017, Saudi Arabia. Page 5.
https://www.wttc.org/-/media/files/reports/economic-impact-research/countries-2017/saudiarabia2017.pdf
