King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) (Arabic: مطار الملك عبدالعزيز الدولي) (IATA: JED, ICAO: OEJN) is an airport located 19 km to the north of Jeddah. Named after King Abdulaziz Al Saud and inaugurated in 1981, the airport is the busiest airport of Saudi Arabia and the third-largest airport in the kingdom. The airport is known for its Hajj terminal, which is specially built for Muslim pilgrims going to Mecca annually and can handle 80,000 passengers at the same time.
The airport occupies an area of 15 square kilometres (5.8 square miles). Beside the airport proper, this includes a royal terminal, facilities of Prince Abdullah Air Base for the Royal Saudi Air Force, and housing for airport staff. Construction work on KAIA airport began in 1974, and was finalized in 1980. Finally, on 31 May 1981, the airport opened for service after being officially inaugurated in April 1981.
Because of Jeddah's proximity to Islam's holy city of Mecca, the airport is notable for one feature in particular: The Hajj Terminal. Specially built to handle pilgrims to take part in the rituals associated with the annual Hajj, it offers many facilities and can accommodate 80,000 travelers at the same time.
Designed by the Bangladeshi-American engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan of the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), it is known for its tent-like roof structure, engineered by Horst Berger while part of Geiger Berger Associates. Ten modules, each consisting of 21 "tents" of white colored Teflon-coated fiberglass fabric suspended from pylons, are grouped together into two blocks of five modules and separated by a landscaped mall between the blocks. Only customs, baggage handling and similar facilities are located in an air-conditioned building. The vast majority of the complex, called "Terminal Support Area", is a flexible, open area, conceived to function like a village, complete with souk (market) and mosque. Not enclosed by walls, this area is sheltered from the intense sun while allowing for natural ventilation; because of this, some consider it to be a green, environmentally-friendly building.
The Hajj Terminal received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1983. According to the jury, "the brilliant and imaginative design of the roofing system met the awesome challenge of covering this vast space with incomparable elegance and beauty."
At five million square feet (460,000 m2), the Jeddah airport Hajj Terminal is estimated to be among the world's largest air terminals after Beijing Capital International Airport, Dubai International Airport and Hong Kong International Airport. Many airlines from Muslim and non-Muslim countries have used the Hajj Terminal.
Jeddah-KAIA airport serves as a major hub for Saudia who originally had the exclusive use of the South Terminal. In 2007 however, the privately owned Saudi carriers Flynas and Sama Airlines were also given permission to use it. Due to the closure of Sama Airlines, the terminal was only used by Saudia and Flynas. The terminal is now also used by Flyadeal, Garuda Indonesia, Kenya Airways, and Korean Air. The North Terminal at Jeddah airport is used by all other foreign airlines.
The new King Abdulaziz International Airport three-stage development started in 2006, and is currently scheduled for an official opening on 1 January 2019 . However, from 2018 a number of local flightes have been started to land in the airport. The project is designed to increase the airport's yearly capacity from 13 million to 80 million passengers.[]
The expansion includes brand-new passenger terminal building, a 136 meter air traffic control (ATC) tower(the world's largest atc tower), airfield hard-standing and paved areas, lighting, fuel network systems, electronic passenger guidance system and storm water drainage network. There will also be a newly constructed support services building and upgrades to the existing runway and airfield systems. The three stages, according to GACA—the General Authority of Civil Aviation of Saudi Arabia, will be marked by staged capacity increase to 30 million, 60 million and 80 million passengers per year.
The new airport will be accessed by the Haramain high-speed rail project network. Prince Majed Street will connect to the Al-Laith Highway, forming a fast north-south transit route.
Airlines | Destinations |
---|---|
Aegean Airlines | Athens |
Afriqiyah Airways | Tripoli Seasonal: Bayda, Benghazi |
Air Algérie | Algiers |
Air Arabia | Ras al Khaimah, Sharjah |
Air Arabia Egypt | Alexandria–Borg el Arab, Assiut (begins 14 March 2019), Sohag |
Air Cairo | Alexandria–Borg el Arab, Assiut, Cairo, Sohag |
Air China | Hajj: Ürümqi |
AirAsia X | Seasonal: Kuala Lumpur–International |
Airblue | Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Multan |
Air India | Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Lucknow, Mumbai |
AlMasria Universal Airlines | Alexandria–Borg el Arab |
Ariana Afghan Airlines | Kabul, Kandahar |
AtlasGlobal | Ankara, Istanbul–Atatürk Seasonal: Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen Hajj: Sarajevo |
Azerbaijan Airlines | Seasonal charter: Baku |
Biman Bangladesh Airlines | Chittagong, Dhaka Hajj: Sylhet |
British Airways | London–Heathrow |
Cairo Aviation | Cairo |
Citilink | Seasonal: Medan, Surabaya |
Daallo Airlines | Hargeisa, Mogadishu |
Eaglexpress | Seasonal: Kuala Lumpur–International, Surabaya |
EgyptAir | Alexandria–Borg el Arab, Cairo, Luxor |
EgyptAir Express | Seasonal: Sharm El Sheikh |
Emirates | Dubai–International |
Eritrean Airlines | Asmara |
Ethiopian Airlines | Addis Ababa |
Etihad Airways | Abu Dhabi |
Flyadeal | Abha, Dammam, Qassim, Riyadh, Tabuk |
flydubai | Dubai–International |
FlyEgypt | Alexandria–Borg el Arab, Sohag |
Flynas | Abu Dhabi, Adana, Algiers, Amman–Queen Alia, Baghdad, Beirut,
Dammam, Dubai–International, Erbil, Hatay, Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen,
Jizan, Kano, Khartoum, Kuwait, Medina, Riyadh, Sharjah, Sharm El
Sheikh, Tabuk, Yanbu Seasonal: Tbilisi Charter: Jakarta-Soekarno Hatta, Kuala Lumpur–International |
Garuda Indonesia | Jakarta–Soekarno–Hatta Seasonal: Balikpapan, Banda Aceh, Makassar, Medan, Padang, Surakarta/Solo, Surabaya Hajj: Banjarmasin, Palembang |
Gulf Air | Bahrain |
Iran Air | Hajj: Bandar Abbas, Birjand, Bushehr, Goragan, Isfahan, Medina, Rasht, Shiraz, Urmia, Zahedan |
Iraqi Airways | Charter: Baghdad, Basra, Erbil, Najaf, Sulaimaniyah |
Jazeera Airways | Kuwait City |
Jet Airways | Mumbai |
Jet2.com | Hajj: Leeds/Bradford, Manchester |
Jubba Airways | Hargeisa, Mogadishu |
Kabo Air | Hajj: Abuja, Kano |
Kam Air | Kabul, Kandahar |
Kuwait Airways | Kuwait City |
Libyan Airlines | Seasonal: Benghazi, Tripoli |
Libyan Wings | Charter: Tripoli |
Lion Air | Seasonal: Balikpapan1, Banda Aceh1, Makassar, Padang1, Palembang1, Pekanbaru1, Solo, Surabaya |
Lufthansa | Frankfurt |
Malaysia Airlines | Kuala Lumpur–International Hajj: Alor Setar, Johor Bahru, Kuala Terengganu, Penang |
Max Air | Hajj: Kano |
Middle East Airlines | Beirut |
Nesma Airlines | Ha'il |
Nile Air | Alexandria–Borg el Arab, Assiut, Aswan, Cairo, Luxor, Sohag |
Nordwind Airlines | Moscow–Sheremetyevo |
Oman Air | Muscat, Salalah |
Pakistan International Airlines | Faisalabad, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar,
Sialkot Hajj: Rahim Yar Khan, Quetta, Bahawalpur |
Palestinian Airlines | El Arish |
Qeshm Airlines | Hajj: Tehran–Imam Khomeini |
Royal Air Maroc | Casablanca Hajj: Rabat, Tangier |
Royal Brunei Airlines | Seasonal: Bandar Seri Begawan |
Royal Falcon | Amman-Marka |
Royal Jordanian | Amman–Queen Alia |
SalamAir | Muscat, Salalah |
Saudia | Abha, Abu Dhabi, Addis Ababa, Al Ahsa, Al Baha, Al Jawf, Al
Ula, Al Wajh, Alexandria–Borg el Arab, Algiers, Amman–Queen Alia,
Ankara, Arar, Baghdad, Bahrain, Bengaluru, Beirut, Bisha, Cairo,
Casablanca, Chennai, Colombo, Dammam, Dawadmi, Delhi, Dhaka,
Dubai–International, Erbil, Frankfurt, Geneva, Guangzhou, Gurayat,
Ha'il, Hyderabad, Islamabad, Istanbul–Atatürk, Jizan, Kano,
Jakarta-Soekarno Hatta, Johannesburg–O.R. Tambo, Karachi, Khartoum,
Kochi, Kozhikode, Kuala Lumpur–International, Kuwait, Lahore,
London–Heathrow, Los Angeles, Lucknow, Madrid, Malè, Manchester,
Manila, Mauritius, Medan, Medina, Milan–Malpensa, Multan, Mumbai,
Munich, Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta, Najran, New York–JFK, Paris–Charles
de Gaulle, Port Sudan, Qaisumah, Qassim, Rafha, Riyadh,
Rome–Fiumicino, Sharm El Sheikh, Sharurah, Singapore, Tabuk, Ta'if,
Tunis, Turaif, Vienna, Wadi al-Dawasir, Washington–Dulles Seasonal: Adana, Agadir, Ahwaz, Ahmedabad, Annaba, Batam, Constantine, Fes, Ghardaïa, Izmir, Málaga, Marrakech, Mashhad, Oran, Rabat, Surabaya, Tabriz, Tangier |
SaudiGulf Airlines | Dammam |
Scoot | Singapore |
SpiceJet | Hyderabad (begins 25 March 2019), Kozhikode (begins 20 April 2019) |
SriLankan Airlines | Colombo |
Sudan Airways | Khartoum |
Syrian Air | Hajj: Damascus |
Thai Airways | Hajj: Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Narathiwat, Krabi, Hat Yai |
Tarco Airlines | Khartoum |
Toumaï Air Tchad | Seasonal: N'Djamena1 |
Tunisair | Tunis |
Turkish Airlines | Istanbul–Atatürk, Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen Hajj: Adana, Ankara, Antalya, Bursa, Denizli, Diyarbakır, Erzurum, Gaziantep, Isparta, Izmir, Kayseri, Konya, Samsun, Sivas, Trabzon, Van |
UTair Aviation | Hajj: Magas, Kazan |
Uzbekistan Airways | Tashkent |
Yemenia | Aden |
Airlines | Destinations |
---|---|
Air France Cargo | Dammam, Hong Kong, Paris–Charles de Gaulle |
DHL International Aviation ME | Bahrain |
Ethiopian Airlines Cargo | Addis Ababa |
Lufthansa Cargo | Frankfurt, Sharjah |
Qatar Airways Cargo | Doha (suspended) |
Saudia Cargo | Addis Ababa, Amsterdam, Brussels, Dammam, Dhaka, Frankfurt, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Johannesburg-OR Tambo, Khartoum,Kozhikode, Maastricht, Lagos, Lucknow, Milan–Malpensa, Mumbai, Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta, New York–JFK, N'Djamena, Riyadh, Shanghai–Pudong, Sharjah |
Turkish Airlines Cargo | Cairo, Istanbul–Atatürk |
The General Authority of Civil Aviation has the GACA Hangar (Building 364) at the airport.
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
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