DAMMAM, 7 March — In total defiance of the PCA advisory not to transport passengers overland, many airlines are continuing to transport them by bus to neighboring Bahrain en route to their respective destinations.
In January this year the Presidency of Civil Aviation ruled that carrying passengers by road was illegal and any airline found involved in this practice would be “heavily penalized”. The immediate effect was that a number of airlines — including Kuwait Airways, Qatar Airways and Emirates — stopped their land transportation.
However, Gulf Air continued carrying passengers by road to Bahrain via the King Fahd Causeway.
During the Eid vacation, however, once again all the airlines started carrying passengers by land over the causeway. Previously, airlines like Gulf Air, Kuwait Airways and Qatar Airways were checking in passengers here and issuing boarding cards at their Land Terminal Office in Dammam. But this time they stopped checking in passengers and stopped issuing boarding cards. These airlines told passengers that they would be checked in at Manama airport and their boarding cards would be issued there.
It was a trick which PCA was not prepared for and as a result of which the new regulations became ineffective.
However, it will be interesting for the PCA to find out if these airlines are committing any breaches by issuing their tickets in Saudi Arabia and in Saudi currency for a travel originating outside the country. As per IATA regulations, no airline can sell a ticket for a trip that originates from a location other than from where it is sold.
Under IATA’s SOTO (Sold Out Travel Out) rules, airlines could do that but then they have to seek permission from the country the airline is operating as well as the country from where the travel is originating. It is doubtful that any of the airlines has sought such permission from either country.
In addition to Gulf Air, Kuwait Airways and Qatar Airways, Indian Airlines and some European airlines are also carrying passengers via the causeway.
Industry experts say that it is difficult to curb this practice altogether. The only solution for the PCA is to have a complete open sky policy and allow airlines to operate more flights from King Fahd International Airport.
Experts say that by allowing more international flights out of KFIA, PCA will not only curb an illegal practice but generate millions of riyals for the country through airport taxes.
