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Travel Daily News
12-05-2025
- Business
- Travel Daily News
IATA Training to Deliver Vital Skills for Saudi Aviation
IATA partners with Saudi aviation stakeholders to train over 1,000 professionals, supporting Vision 2030 and the Kingdom's aviation expansion. JEDDAH – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced several training agreements with Saudi airlines, airports, and academic institutions to address critical skills needed to support the Kingdom's growing aviation sector. These agreements were concluded at the IATA Aviation Day Middle East and North Africa (MENA), taking place in Jeddah on 6-7 May 2025. In the initial phase, over 1,000 aviation graduates and employees will receive comprehensive skills training, covering a wide range of areas, including airport development, safety, airline management and ground operations. Today aviation contributes USD 90.6 billion, or 8.5%, to Saudi Arabia's GDP and supports 1.4 million jobs – 62,000 of which are directly employed by airlines and 79,000 by the country's airports and air navigation service provider (ANSP). This contribution is expected to ramp up significantly over the next few years, with travel and tourism serving as one of the key pillars of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030. To support this growth, the Kingdom has committed to a significant investment to airport infrastructure and fleet renewals. 'Saudi Arabia's aviation sector is undergoing unprecedented growth and transformation. The Kingdom is not only expanding its aviation infrastructure, but it is also investing in its people. This is vital to meet the immediate skills requirements while developing a professional workforce able to deliver on Vision 2030. IATA is working with the country's training community as it establishes Saudi Arabia as a hub of aviation excellence,' said Kamil Al-Awadhi, IATA's Regional Vice President for Africa and Middle East. The training agreements concluded for 2025 are: Riyadh Airports Company and Qassim University will become Regional Training Partners while Prince Sultan Aviation Academy (PSAA)—a long-standing Regional Training Partner—will add additional courses. Across the three entities, they will offer more than 60 training courses covering airport development and operations, safety, commercial and people skills and ground operations. and will become Regional Training Partners while Prince Sultan Aviation Academy (PSAA)—a long-standing Regional Training Partner—will add additional courses. Across the three entities, they will offer more than 60 training courses covering airport development and operations, safety, commercial and people skills and ground operations. IATA will provide industry awareness courses to graduates across Riyadh Air and Saudia Airlines, aimed at attracting and nurturing national talent for future leadership roles within the airlines. IATA will provide Dangerous Goods Courses to the management and operational personnel of the Saudi Academy of Civil Aviation (SACA). SAL Saudi Logistics Services has been certified as a CBTA Center while Saudi Ground Services (SGS) renewed both its CBTA Center and Training Validation Program (TVP) certification for its ground operations training program.
Arab News
10-05-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan ports face export backlog as India's transit ban forces shipping lines to reroute
KARACHI: Pakistan is facing a 'big backlog' of export containers at its ports after international shipping lines began bypassing the country, following India's decision to block vessels carrying Pakistani cargo, officials and shipping documents confirmed to Arab News on Friday. The disruption has led several global shipping companies to impose emergency operational surcharges on Pakistani cargo, citing the 'significant impact' of regional geopolitical tensions on their operations. The move is expected to raise shipping costs and, ultimately, consumer prices in Pakistan, a country of over 240 million people already grappling with economic challenges. 'The European shipping services are bypassing Pakistan ports after India's ban on the transit of ships loaded with cargoes from Pakistan,' said Syed Tahir Hussain, Secretary General of the Pakistan Ship Agents Association (PSAA). He accused New Delhi of attempting to undermine Pakistan's recovering economy, which has shown signs of stabilization under the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) $7 billion loan program. PSAA Chairman Mohammed A. Rajpar called India's move 'unwarranted' and against international conventions, saying it was designed to discourage shipping lines from calling at Pakistani ports. The situation comes as Islamabad is attempting to break free from its boom-and-bust economic cycles by boosting exports, which rose 6 percent to $27 billion through April, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. Until recently, many international shipping services transited Pakistani cargo through India's largest ports — Mundra and Nhava Sheva — by loading what is termed Remaining On Board (ROB) freight. However, India embargoed this practice last week, prompting several carriers to remove Pakistani ports from their routes and instead launch dedicated feeder services to handle trade valued at approximately $87 billion last year. Most of Pakistan's containerized cargo is handled through the South Asia Pakistan Terminal (SAPT) operated by CH Hutchison Holdings, Qasim International Container Terminal (QICT) run by DP World and the Karachi Gateway Terminal managed by Abu Dhabi Ports Group. 'Some vessels carrying Pakistan's exports sailed from QICT were not allowed berthing in India,' said Hussain, whose association represents over 50 international shipping lines. 'They had to divert to Dubai and other nearby ports,' he added, without specifying when the incident occurred. Shipping documents seen by Arab News show that at least four vessels were denied entry by Indian authorities earlier this week due to 'Karachi onboard cargo.' These ships were rerouted to Colombo in Sri Lanka and Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates. Swiss carrier MSC Mediterranean Shipping redirected all destination cargo via Colombo aboard its vessel MSC Positano V-JP526R, which had been scheduled to call at QICT on May 6. This change, MSC said in a customer notice, was 'due to the current geopolitical situation and restrictions on imports and exports via/from India.' French shipping giant CMA CGM has removed Karachi from at least four of its service routes, citing the need to adjust operations to and from Pakistan. 'BIG BACKLOG' AT PORTS Export congestion is building at Pakistani ports as hundreds of containers await shipment. 'There is big backlog,' said Khurram Mukhtar, Patron-in-Chief of the Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA). Textiles remain Pakistan's largest export sector, contributing $17 billion last year. Mukhtar noted that most shipping lines were now planning to route exports through Colombo, with system updates expected by Monday. MSC has launched a 'Pakistan-Colombo Shuttle Service,' a weekly feeder vessel that will transport export containers to Sri Lanka for onward connections to global destinations. Amid the ongoing crisis, international shipping lines have begun imposing surcharges on Pakistani exporters and importers. CMA CGM has introduced an Emergency Operational Recovery Surcharge (EORS) of up to $800 per container for shipments to the US, Latin America and Australia, effective from May 15 through June 6. The French firm said the surcharge was necessary to maintain service reliability and safety during this period. CMA CGM operates more than 250 routes globally with a fleet of 650 vessels. 'Pakistan's exports are suffering,' said a senior official at one of Pakistan's major container terminals, speaking on condition of anonymity. 'This will lead to the buildup of a huge container backlog at Pakistani ports,' the official said. 'There will be issues like port demurrages. The shipping lines will be charging the consignees with detentions.'
