Hacker News Reader

Comment by wkat4242 | Hacker News Reader

Well they do have the money. I'm sure they can build it.

They won't get the tourists (except for the yearly mekka pilgrimage) but perhaps they're going for a hub thing like Dubai.

View on HN

This is the point. I k ow plenty of travelling women and families who will take other routes because the area is associated with such a poor view (read: personal risk or inconvenience) for women.

I'm not US based and on our way to Europe there are a couple of options for transit hubs.

I know plenty of people who go from Asia to Europe via the Middle East because the other route via the US involves getting a US visa and doing the full trip though immigration, customers and usually security.

It would take us a great deal longer to go via the US from our western pacific location. There are quite a few options from Asia to Europe which do not go through the middle east.

Other middle eastern airlines (Emirates, Qatar, Etihad, Turkish) have all the same advantages and a decades-long head start on Saudi. Simply building a fancy airport isn't all that it takes to compete in what is already a cut throat industry.

I always wonder if having unlimited money is all it takes. There's only so many excavators in the world, and hiring every single one would probably tank someone's economy

> I always wonder if having unlimited money is all it takes.

Just ask the US. They have experience with such things. /s

Reply on news.ycombinator.com