KUWAIT: Abdullah Al-Rajhi, Director of the Air Transport Department at the Directorate- General of Civil Aviation, expects the number of passengers to and from Kuwait International Airport during the next summer season to reach about 6 million — 3.1 million departures and 2.9 million arrivals, reports Al-Qabas daily. Al-Rajhi told the daily the expected numbers of passenger traffic include from this May to next September, noting that the most prominent new destinations for the summer season are Mykonos, Athens, Budapest, Al-Jouf, Moscow, Larnaca, Belgrade, Tirana, Dushanbe, Aleppo and Taif.

Al-Rajhi, affirmed the readiness of the DGCA to deal with the movement of passengers to and from Kuwait International Airport during this period, pointing to the granting of approvals for airlines to operate in the season according to the volume of movement and its flow in the passenger terminals T1, T2 and T3 as all the authorities operating at the airport are prepared for the travel and pilgrimage season.

Plans He said the most prominent plans for the summer flight schedule will focus on not exceeding the seat capacities of the three terminals, to ensure smooth movement and the opening of new airports. Regarding the expansion of the operational network of Kuwait Airport and linking it to the largest number of airports in the world, he said: This will be done by operating new sectors for Kuwait Airways, such as Mykanos, Athens, Budapest and Taif, and operating “Jazeera Airways” for the Al-Jaof, Moscow, Larnaca, Belgrade, Tirana and Dushanbe sectors, in addition to the signing of “Kuwait Airways” Codeshare agreement with international airlines, which contributes to the diversification and expansion of the operational network.

He went on to say the airport will witness the entry of new airlines to the market, in addition to the 53 companies currently operating from Kuwait. Regarding the “civil aviation” controls to stop fraud in selling tickets through applications and websites, he said: “There are circulars in this regard, and we periodically disclose these procedures, and travelers must verify the sites authorized by us and the presence of the approval number registered on the website.” He said there are inspection teams that monitor the local air transport market, to ensure compliance with the law and regulations of “civil aviation”, noting that these teams have the right to inspect workers in the market in terms of requesting issuance and renewal, to ensure compliance with the conditions.

He stressed that the penalty for selling or marketing travel tickets without a license is imprisonment for no more than three months and a fine not exceeding 500 dinars, or one of the two penalties. Al-Rajhi reaffirmed that the capacity of the airport buildings will return to what it was before the Corona pandemic, and added in 2019, the number of passengers reached 15.5 million. As for 2022, their number reached 11.2 million, which indicates that the increase in numbers will return to its usual pre-pandemic situation

KUWAIT: A European citizen who was employed at a hotel, was found dead in the hotel’s swimming pool as he committed suicide. The body was discovered with the individual having tied himself to a weight before submerging. The authorities were immediately notified, and the body was later transferred to forensic medicine for further examination.

KUWAIT: The Customs Department inspection and warehousing control personnel successfully discovered subsidized food items concealed in personal shipments. According to the authorities, they intercepted trucks that were carrying different subsidized supplies, hidden within loads of personal belongings and property. The intention was to smuggle these goods to other Arab countries via land routes.

KUWAIT: According to a recent statistics issued by the Ministry of Justice, there were 3,577 cases pending at the country’s traffic courts during the months of January and February, of which 1,549 have been adjudicated so far, reports Al-Qabas daily.

The statistics revealed that the total fines recorded in traffic court cases during the aforementioned two months amounted to KD 62,000, including KD 35,920 in January, and KD 26,300 in February.
The cases amounted to 3,577 pending cases, including 2,039 cases in January, 1,538 in February. About 843 cases were decided in January and 706 in February.
The rulings and penal orders issued by the traffic courts, according to the type of rulings during the aforementioned period, were distributed among 31 prison sentences, 21 of which were in January and 10 in February.

The details of the rulings in January were – seven rulings in January at the Capital Traffic Court, followed by six rulings in Hawally Traffic Court, five in Ahmadi Traffic Court, two in Jahra Traffic Court, and one ruling in Farwaniya Traffic Court. The Mubarak Al-Kabeer Traffic Court did not record any sentences of imprisonment during that period.

In the month of February, the courts recorded four prison sentences in the Capital Traffic Court, two each in Mubarak Al-Kabeer Traffic Court and Farwaniya Traffic Court, and one each in Hawally Traffic Court and Jahra Traffic Court. Ahmadi Traffic Court did not record prison sentences during this month.
The total number of driving license revocation rulings was 32 during the aforementioned period, including 19 in January and 13 in February.
The rulings in January include nine rulings for withdrawal of driving licenses in the Hawally Traffic Court, five in Capital Traffic Court, three in Ahmadi Traffic Court, two in Jahra Traffic Court, and one ruling in Farwaniya Traffic Court. No rulings were made in Mubarak Al-Kabeer Traffic Court.
Most of the rulings were issued in February, with five rulings in Capital Traffic Court, four in Hawally Traffic Court, two in Farwaniya Traffic Court, and one each in Ahmadi Traffic Court and Jahra Traffic Court. Mubarak Al-Kabeer Traffic Court did not record any ruling regarding withdrawal of driving license during this month.
The total death cases in traffic courts reached 43 during the same period, including 23 cases in January and 20 cases in February.
The Capital and Ahmadi traffic courts recorded the highest number of deaths, with 6 cases each during January, followed by Jahra Traffic Court with five cases, then Hawally Traffic Court with four cases, and finally Farwaniya Traffic Court with two death cases during this month.
In February, Ahmadi Traffic Court recorded the highest number of deaths, with six cases, followed by Capital Traffic Court, Hawally Traffic Court, Jahra Traffic Court and Mubarak Al-Kabeer Traffic Court with three cases each, and Farwaniya Traffic Court with two death cases.

KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti Ministry of Health has “temporarily” shut down 33 private cosmetic surgery clinics on the grounds of breaking medical advertisement rules on social networking sites.

In a press statement, the ministry said the move came after these clinics, along with 33 doctors, had violated Law 70/2020 on the profession of cosmetic surgeon and relevant ministerial decrees, mainly Decree 87/2023 as for public morality, code of ethics and patients’ privacy.

The ministry added that it had already taken legal action against the clinics by sending the violating doctors to concerned authorities and shutting down the clinics “temporarily” until relevant investigations were over. (KUNA)

KUWAIT: Four Asian expatriates attempted suicide by jumping from the balcony of an apartment in Salmiya, which was reported to the Operations Room of the Ministry of Interior. According to security sources, the expatriates were found to have been using the apartment for gambling when it was raided by authorities. The four individuals then attempted to escape by jumping from the balcony.

Fortunately, the expatriates were treated for their injuries and detained for legal measures to be taken against them. The incident is still under investigation to determine the details and circumstances surrounding the incident.