The Wicks Group has completed three projects for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA). TWG has also provided services to Saudi Arabian Airlines as well as to several Saudi Arabia-based companies operating private or corporate jets.
The first GACA project was to develop aviation sector economic licensing regulations that would meet both international standards and Saudi Arabian strategic goals. After preparing draft regulations, TWG worked with a stakeholder group to finalize the content. The regulations were officially adopted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2006. Our second GACA project was to prepare the “Invitation to Submit Application” package that was to be completed by air carriers seeking economic licenses from the Kingdom under the new regulations. This project included organizing and attending various working group meetings and drafting the Invitation and ancillary documents. TWG also made recommendations on procedural matters related to the solicitation of domestic carrier proposals and supported government decision makers in evaluating the applications received. We also prepared a Record of Decision for the award of new economic licenses. The third project was conducting a study of domestic price caps in Saudi Arabia and their effects on the civil aviation sector.
For Saudi Arabian Airlines, our consultants assisted the airline with assessing and strengthening its compliance with the US Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) and related "Part 382" regulations. TWG analyzed relevant documents and conducted a station audit at Dulles Airport to assess the airline's current level of compliance, prepared an ACAA Compliance handbook, and provided ACAA/Part 382 training to airline staff from across the US. For the Saudi companies operating private or corporate jets, our services have focused primarily on securing for them the necessary certifications and approvals for flights to and from the US. This work also included resolving matters related to the completion of a private jet by a US company for a member of the Saudi Royal family.