Saudi aviation regulator in talks about airport free zones

Jeddah

SAUDI Arabia's aviation regulator is in talks with government agencies to set up free zones in the Jeddah and Riyadh airports under a long-term plan to diversify the kingdom's economy away from oil, its chairman told Reuters on Wednesday.

Faisal al-Sugair, vice-chairman of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), said in an interview: "This is not a simple development of a free zone; there's a lot of agencies involved. The starting point would be one in Jeddah Airport and one in Riyadh Airport."