General Authority of Civil Aviation

The General Authority of Civil Aviation of Saudi Arabia (GACA, Arabic: الهيئة العامة للطيران المدني‎) It is responsible for regulation of air transport services and the implementation of civil air regulations, air safety and airworthiness standards. It also co-ordinates all regulatory functions with International Civil Aviation Organization. The headquarters is in Riyadh.[1]

The GACA emerged from the Presidency of Civil Aviation (PCA, مصلحة الطيران المدني) that was created when the institution controlling aviation was split into a civil department and the Royal Saudi Air Force.[2] The Presidency of Civil Aviation was among others also in charge of the Saudi Arabian Airlines and the Meteorology Department. The Saudi Arabian Airlines was split from the Presidency of Civil Aviation in 1960 and became an independent public institution in 1963.[2] The Meteorology Department became an independent institution with own budget in 1966.[2] The name of the Presidency of Civil Aviation was changed to General Authority of Civil Aviation in 1977.[2] In late December 2011 the GACA was separated from the ministry of defence and was attached directly to King Abdullah.[3] Following this reorganization King Abdullah appointed Prince Fahd bin Abdullah bin Mohammed as the head of the GACA.[3]

The former president of GACA was Nabeel Al Amoudi also was the minister of transport. Its current president is Abdulhadi Al Mansouri.[4]

The GACA operates four international and 23 domestic airports within Saudi Arabia.[5] In order to increase the number of passengers and planes taking off from the Saudi airport, GACA has introduced a number of e-services to help passengers in 2019. This includes the check-in e-service, baggage drop e-service and self-scanning devices.[6]