King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh has begun implementing its largest operational transformation since opening more than 40 years ago, marking the first comprehensive overhaul of airline operations across its terminals. The phased redistribution came into effect today.

Under the “Terminal Transition” project, managed by Riyadh Airports Company, terminal allocations are being reorganised to enhance operational efficiency and improve passenger flow at the Saudi capital’s main gateway.

From today, Terminals 1 and 2 are designated for international flights operated by Saudi national carriers. From February 24, Terminal 4 will serve domestic flights for national airlines.

Beginning February 25, Terminal 5 will handle international flights operated by foreign carriers. On the same day, operations at Terminal 3 will be merged with Terminal 4 to accommodate domestic services of national carriers.

The move forms part of wider efforts to streamline airport operations and support rising passenger volumes in line with the Kingdom’s aviation growth strategy.

GN

The forthcoming Unified GCC Tourist Visa represents one of the most concrete steps yet toward functional regional integration in the Gulf. While often compared to Europe’s Schengen system, the initiative is best understood as a targeted response to a long-standing structural problem: bureaucratic fragmentation that discourages multi-country travel in a region that increasingly markets itself as interconnected.

Under the new framework, visitors would apply once through a unified digital platform and gain access to all six GCC states, namely the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait, on a single short-stay visa. Current planning points to a 30-day validity period, with a projected fee in the range of $90–130. The intent is to facilitate multi-destination itineraries that have so far been constrained by separate national visa regimes.

This shift aligns directly with the region’s economic diversification strategies, where tourism has emerged as a critical non-oil growth sector. By lowering administrative barriers, the GCC is effectively repositioning itself as a single interlinked tourism space, rather than six adjacent but disconnected markets.

Why the launch has taken time

The repeated postponements of the unified visa’s rollout reflect not a lack of political commitment, but the complexity of aligning security governance across six sovereign states. A system that permits region-wide movement after a single-entry screening requires a high degree of trust among participating authorities.

This trust is built through technical integration: shared biometric databases, interoperable entry-exit systems, and a unified regional watchlist or “blacklist.” Without these mechanisms, mutual recognition of visa decisions would expose member states to security blind spots. The unified visa is therefore as much a security infrastructure project as it is a tourism initiative.

A Schengen-inspired but distinct model

Comparisons with Europe’s Schengen area are inevitable, but the differences are instructive. Schengen spans 29 countries, largely abolishes internal border checks, and is embedded within the European Union’s broader framework of freedom of movement. The GCC model is narrower in scope and more conservative by design.

Physical border controls will remain in place, and the unified visa does not confer rights to work, reside, or settle. It does not harmonise labour markets or immigration law. Instead, it focuses on short-term mobility for tourism and related activities. In this sense, it is a mobility facilitation tool, not a political integration project.

Compliance, overstay penalties, and regional security

One of the most consequential, though less visible, features of the unified visa is its enforcement architecture. Overstay violations are expected to trigger harmonised and escalating penalties, including daily fines, possible travel bans, and automatic flagging across GCC-wide databases.

This approach strengthens regional security in several ways. First, it eliminates jurisdictional loopholes. Under current arrangements, an individual who overstays or violates visa conditions in one Gulf state may still be able to enter another. Under the unified system, a violation in one country would be visible to all six, ensuring consistent enforcement.

Second, shared data improves risk assessment. For example, if a visitor enters through Dubai, overstays in one member state, and attempts to re-enter the region at a later date through another entry point, the unified database would immediately flag the prior violation. This not only deters abuse but also enhances early identification of individuals who may pose broader security or compliance risks.

In this sense, the unified visa expands mobility while simultaneously tightening accountability, a balance that is central to modern border governance.

Implications for the UAE and the wider GCC

For the UAE, the unified visa reinforces its position as the region’s primary aviation and mobility gateway. Given its airline networks and infrastructure, it is likely to serve as a principal entry point where initial biometric and security screening is conducted on behalf of the wider bloc. This elevates the UAE’s strategic role but also underscores the need for sustained investment in border management technologies.

For residents and expatriates across the GCC, the visa promises a meaningful improvement in regional mobility, replacing fragmented national procedures with a single, predictable framework. For the region as a whole, it operationalises long-standing ambitions to translate political coordination into tangible economic and social outcomes.

A measured but meaningful step forward

The Unified GCC Visa is not a Middle Eastern Schengen, nor is it intended to be. Its importance lies in its pragmatism. By reducing bureaucratic friction, aligning tourism ambitions, and embedding mobility within a shared security framework, the GCC is taking a measured but significant step toward deeper functional integration.

If implemented effectively, the unified visa could become one of the most visible manifestations of Gulf cooperation, experienced not through policy declarations, but through smoother travel, longer stays, stronger compliance, and a region that increasingly functions as a coherent and competitive destination.

GN

The passport rankings for 2026 are out, and the list has hardly changed.

Singapore has retained its position as the world’s most powerful passport, offering access to 192 destinations visa-free, according to the Henley Passport Index 2026.

Japan and South Korea rank joint 2nd, each offering visa-free access to 188 destinations, reinforcing Asia’s long-standing leadership at the top of the global mobility rankings. Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland follow in 3rd place with access to 186 destinations, ahead of an unprecedented group of 10 European countries — Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands and Norway — tied for 4^th.

The remainder of the upper-tier passports continue to underscore Europe’s dominance, with notable exceptions including UAE (5th), New Zealand (6th), Australia (7th), Canada (8th), and Malaysia (9th), the report showed.

Weakest passport

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Afghanistan once again ranks last, with its passport holders able to travel to just 24 destinations without a prior visa. The resulting 168-destination gap starkly illustrates the scale of global mobility inequality in 2026 — a dramatic widening of the divide since 2006, when the difference between the then top-ranking US passport and Afghanistan was only 118 destinations.

“Over the past 20 years, global mobility has expanded significantly, but the benefits have been distributed unevenly”, said Christian H. Kaelin, chairman at Henley & Partners and creator of the Henley Passport Index. “Today, passport privilege plays a decisive role in shaping opportunity, security, and economic participation, with rising average access masking a reality in which mobility advantages are increasingly concentrated among the world’s most economically powerful and politically stable nations.”

“A record number of people are expected to travel in 2026. The unequivocal economic and social benefits generated by this travel grow as it becomes more accessible. But while more people have the economic freedom to travel, many nationalities are seeing that a passport alone is no longer sufficient to cross borders”, said IATA director general Willie Walsh. “As many governments look to more tightly secure their borders, technological advances such as digital ID and digital passports should not be overlooked by policymakers. Convenient travel and secure borders are possible.”

Heavy loss for UK, US back in top 10

The US has returned to the top 10 after briefly dropping out for the first time in late 2025, but this recovery masks a longer-term decline for both the US and the UK, which jointly held 1st place in 2014. The past year saw both countries record their steepest annual losses in visa-free access, shedding seven and eight destinations, respectively. The US has suffered the third largest ranking decline over the past two decades — after Venezuela and Vanuatu — falling six places from 4th to 10th, while the UK ranks as the fourth-biggest faller, down four places from 3rd in 2006 to 7th in 2026.

Biggest gainers

The UAE stands out as the strongest performer on the Henley Passport Index over the past 20 years, adding 149 visa-free destinations since 2006 and climbing 57 places to 5th on the rankings with access to 184 destinations visa-free, driven by sustained diplomatic engagement and visa liberalisation, the report said.

Countries across the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe have also made significant gains over the past two decades, led by Albania, which climbed 36 places to rank 43rd on the index. Ukraine has risen 34 places (to 30th), followed by Serbia (+30 to 34th), North Macedonia (+27 to 38th), and both Bosnia and Herzegovina (+29) and Georgia (+26), which now share 42nd place. Together, these advances highlight the impact of regional integration and closer alignment with key partners.

Bolivia is the only country on the index to have seen an overall decline in visa-free access over the past 20 years, losing 5 visa-free destinations and falling 32 places to rank at 61st in 2026.

GN