June 14 – The only radar at Prince Muhammad Bin Abdul Aziz International Airport in Madina that guides pilots to the runway is out of order. The radar was purchased at a cost of SR60 million six months ago.
According to airport officials, the radar had stopped functioning several times in the past, once for six hours straight. “The Civil Aviation Authority found it necessary to go back to the traditional tower navigation run by the air controllers,” added the source.
The radar still comes under the manufacturing company’s trial period.
Authorities at the airport have asked a team of experts from the King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah to repair the radar.