King Abdulaziz International Airport

King Abdulaziz International Airport
مطار الملك عبدالعزيز الدولي
Hajj Terminal
IATA: JEDICAO: OEJN
JED
Location of airport in Saudi Arabia
Summary
Airport type Military/Public
Operator General Authority of Civil Aviation
Serves Jeddah
Location Al Madinah Al Munawwarah Road
Hub for Saudi Arabian Airlines
Elevation AMSL 48 ft / 15 m
Website www.jed-airport.com
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
16L/34R 13,124 4,000 Asphalt
16C/34C 10,825 3,299 Concrete
16R/34L 12,467 3,800 Asphalt
Statistics (2010)
Passengers 17,891,364

King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) (Arabic: مطار الملك عبدالعزيز الدولي‎) (IATA: JEDICAO: OEJN) is an aviation facility located 19 km to the north of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Named after King Abdulaziz Al Saud, the airport is Saudi Arabia's third largest air facility and busiest airport by passenger. The airport occupies an area of 15 square kilometers.[1] Beside the airport proper, this includes a royal terminal, facilities of the Royal Saudi Air Force, and housing facilities for the airport staff.

Construction work on KAIA airport began in 1974, and was finalized in 1980. Finally, on May 31, 1981, the airport opened for service after having been officially inaugurated in April 1981.[1]

Because of Jeddah's closeness to Islam's holy city of Mecca/Makkah, the airport stands for one feature in particular: the Hajj Terminal specially built to handle foreign pilgrims destined for Makkah to take part in the rituals associated with the annual Hajj. Many airlines from Muslim and non-Muslim countries have used the Hajj Terminal, providing the capacity needed to carry pilgrims to Saudi Arabia. It was designed by Fazlur Rahman Khan of the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP (SOM) and engineered by Horst Berger while at Geiger Berger Associates.

The North Terminal at Jeddah airport is used by all foreign airlines. The South Terminal was reserved for the exclusive use of Saudi Arabian Airlines until 2007, when the privately owned Saudi carriers Nas Air and Sama Airlines were also given permission to use it. Jeddah-KAIA airport serves as a major hub for Saudi Arabian Airlines.

The Jeddah airport Hajj Terminal is estimated to be, at five million square feet (465,000 m²), among the world's largest air terminals after Beijing Capital International Airport, Dubai International Airport and Hong Kong International Airport. It covers over 100 acres (405,000 m²) and is known for its tent-shaped roof. Terminal 3's roof is not actually a tent, but a white colored fiberglass. The Hajj Terminal offers pilgrims many facilities, including a mosque, and can accommodate 80,000 travelers at the same time.

Contents

New King Abdulaziz International Airport Project

The new development is taking place in three stages starting in September 2006, and currently scheduled for completion in 2014. [2] Three new terminal buildings, a high-speed rail link and a capacity for up to 80 million passengers a year are among the targets proposed for a new airport. The project is designed to increase the airport’s capacity initially from 13 million passengers by 30 million passengers each year. The expansion includes airfield hard standing and paved areas, lighting, fuel network systems and storm water drainage network. There will also be a newly constructed support services building, renovation of the existing South and North Terminals and upgrades to the existing runway and airfield systems to accommodate the Airbus A380. The three stages, according to GACA – the General Authority of Civil Aviation of Saudi Arabia, will be marked by staged capacity increase to 30mn / 60mn and 80mn passengers per year. Based on current traffic increases, the existing South Terminal will need to serve about 21 million passengers per year over the next 20 years to meet growing demand. The project has reached the final stages of planning and design, and King Abdullah, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has approved a budget of SR4 billion to build the futuristic new airport to international standards.

Abdullah Al-Rehaimy, president of the General Authority of Civil Aviation, has said that the project will be built by local companies.

The three new crescent-shaped passenger halls will be located to the south of the current international terminal which will be undergoing renovation at the same time. Talal Saaty, speaking at a presentation of the project to Jeddah Governor Prince Mishaal ibn Majed, said that work on the improvements could start as early as this coming September. Operational capacity for the airport, he said, would increase, and denied that upgrading work would hamper traffic throughput. Work on renewing and upgrading the facilities, he said, would be timed to avoid peak traffic flow. Access to the new terminals is still in the planning and purchasing stage. An extension of Prince Majed Street will make access direct and easy; the municipality is currently investigating the location of land needed for the proposed extension and is addressing the problem of the compulsory purchase of property and compensation.

Southward, Prince Majed Street will connect to the Al-Laith Highway, forming a fast north-south transit route. As well as much improved road access, plans have been made for a high-speed rail link serving the airport. Starting at Prince Majed Street, the link will run into the airport and hook up with terminals.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines Destinations Terminal
Air Algérie Algiers, Constantine North
Air Arabia Sharjah North
Air France Djibouti, Paris-Charles de Gaulle South
Air India Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mumbai North
AlMasria Universal Airlines Alexandria-Borg el Arab North
Ariana Afghan Airlines Dubai, Kabul North
Bahrain Air Bahrain North
Batavia Air Seasonal: Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta North
Biman Bangladesh Airlines Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet North
British Airways London-Heathrow North
British Midland International London-Heathrow 1 North
Cathay Pacific Hong Kong 2 North
China Southern Airlines Beijing-Capital 1 North
Daallo Airlines Djibouti, Hargeisa, Mogadishu North
EgyptAir Alexandria-El Nouzha, Cairo North
EgyptAir Express Seasonal: Sharm el-Sheikh North
Emirates Dubai North
Eritrean Airlines Asmara North
Ethiopian Airlines Addis Ababa North
Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi North
Flydubai Dubai North
Garuda Indonesia Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta North
GMG Airlines Dhaka North
Gulf Air Bahrain North
Iran Air Seasonal: Isfahan North
Jazeera Airways Kuwait North
Jet Airways Mumbai North
Jet2.com Seasonal: Birmingham, East Midlands, Leeds/Bradford, Manchester North
Jubba Airways Djibouti, Hargeisa, Mogadishu North
Kabo Air Abuja, Kano North
Kenya Airways Nairobi North
Kuwait Airways Kuwait North
Libyan Airlines Tripoli [currently suspended] North
Lion Air Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta North
Lufthansa Frankfurt 1 North
Mahan Air Tehran-Imam Khomeini North
Malaysia Airlines Kuala Lumpur North
Middle East Airlines Beirut North
Nas Air Abu Dhabi, Adana, Aleppo, Alexandria-Borg el Arab, Amman-Queen Alia, Antakya-Hatay, Assiut, Beirut, Damascus, Dammam, Dubai, Islamabad, Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen, Karachi, Khartoum, Kozhikode, Kuwait, Lahore, Latakia, Riyadh, Sharjah
Seasonal: Sharm el-Sheikh
South
Nasair Asmara North
Nile Air Cairo North
Oman Air Muscat North
Pakistan International Airlines Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Sialkot North
Qatar Airways Doha North
RAK Airways Ras al Khaimah North
Royal Air Maroc Casablanca North
Royal Brunei Bandar Seri Begawan North
Royal Falcon Amman-Marka North
Royal Jordanian Amman-Queen Alia North
Saudi Arabian Airlines Abha, Abu Dhabi, Addis Ababa, Alahsa, Al Baha, Alexandria-Borg el Arab, Amman-Queen Alia, Ankara, Arar, Bahrain, Bangalore, Beirut, Bisha, Cairo, Casablanca, Chennai, Colombo, Damascus, Dammam, Dawadmi, Delhi, Dhaka, Doha, Dubai, Frankfurt, Gassim, Geneva, Guangzhou, Gurayat, Hafar Al-Batin, Hail, Hong Kong, Hyderabad, Islamabad, Istanbul-Atatürk, Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta, Jizan, Jouf, Calicut, Kano, Karachi, Kochi, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, Lahore,Lucknow, London-Heathrow, Manila, Medina, Madrid, Milan-Malpensa, Mumbai, Muscat, Najran, Nairobi, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Peshawar, Qaisumah, Rafha, Riyadh, Rome-Fiumicino, Sana'a, Sharjah, Sharurah, Singapore, Surabaya, Tabuk, Taif, Tehran-Imam Khoemeini, Tunis, Turaif, Wadi ad-Dawasir, Washington-Dulles, Wedjh, Yanbu
Seasonal: Isfahan, Salalah, Sharm el-Sheikh
South
Singapore Airlines Singapore 1 North
Sri Lankan Airlines Colombo North
Somon Air Dushanbe 1 North
Sudan Airways Khartoum North
Syrian Air Aleppo, Damascus North
Turkish Airlines Istanbul-Atatürk North
Tunisair Tunis North
Toumai Air Tchad N'djamena 1 North
Yemenia Aden, Sana'a North

Notes
^1 These flights may include a stop between Jeddah and the listed destination. However, the airlines do not have rights to transport passengers solely between Jeddah and the intermediate stop.

Cargo

Airlines Destinations
Air France Cargo Dammam, Hong Kong, Paris-Charles de Gaulle
Ethiopian Airlines Addis Ababa [3]
Lufthansa Cargo Frankfurt
Saudi Arabian Airlines Cargo Addis Ababa, Amman, Amsterdam, Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Brussels, Dammam, Dhaka, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Houston, Johannesburg, Khartoum, Lagos, Milan-Malpensa, Mumbai, Nairobi, N'Djamena, New York-JFK, Riyadh, Sana'a, Shanghai-Pudong, Sharjah, Thiruvananthapuram [4]
Sudan Airways Khartoum

Statistics

Over 17 million passengers use Jeddah-KAIA airport every year.

Statistics for King Abdulaziz International Airport
Year Total Passengers Total Aircraft Movements Total Cargo (tonnes)
1998 9,716,000 85,613
1999 10,149,000 88,701
2000 10,465,000 88,531
2001 10,237,000 86,438
2002 10,849,000 86,453
2003 11,248,000 88,433
2004 12,257,000 93,685
2005 13,239,000 98,986
2006 13,265,000 107,740
2007 14,356,000 122,266
2008 17,644,000 138,599
2009 17,757,000 142,505
2010 17,891,364 146,365 231,730

Incidents and accidents

See also

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

External links

Saudi Arabia portal
Aviation portal
World War II portal