Saudi Arabian Airlines has imposed a SR50 ($13) fine for first and business class passengers who are late or fail to show up for flights. Economy and international passengers are not included in the new fine scheme.
Abdullah Al-Ajhar, Saudia vice president of public relations, said the main reason behind the new imposed fine was that the airline has been experiencing a high number of late and no-show passengers.
“Instead of being able to provide quality service for our traveling passengers we are often times preoccupied with facilitating late cancellations and refunds, re-bookings, and re-routings,” he said.
The airline has also restructured its ticket prices with children now being required to travel on an adult full fare tickets while infants, traveling in the past for free, now require a ticket costing 20% of an adult fare ticket.