King Abdulaziz International Airport

King Abdulaziz International Airportمطار الملك عبدالعزيز الدوليMataar Al-Malik Abdulaziz Al-Duwaly
IATA: JED ICAO: OEJN
Summary
Airport type	Military/Public
Operator	General Authority of Civil Aviation
Serves	Jeddah and Mecca (Makkah), Saudi Arabia
Location	Al Madinah Al Munawwarah Road
Hub for	flyadeal Flynas Saudia
Elevation AMSL	15 m / 48 ft
Coordinates	21°40′46″N 039°09′24″E / 21.67944°N 39.15667°E / 21.67944; 39.15667Coordinates: 21°40′46″N 039°09′24″E / 21.67944°N 39.15667°E / 21.67944; 39.15667
Website	www.jed-airport.com
Map
JED Location of airport in Saudi Arabia Show map of Saudi Arabia JED JED (Asia) Show map of Asia
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 16L/34R 4,000 13,123 Asphalt 16C/34C 4,000 13,123 Concrete 16R/34L 3,800 12,467 Asphalt
Statistics (2018)
Passengers 41,200,000[1] Traffic movement 340,333[1] Economic impact (2012) $11.5 billion[2] Social impact (2012) 126.7 thousand[2]

King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) (Arabic: مطار الملك عبدالعزيز الدولي‎) (IATA: JED, ICAO: OEJN) is an International airport located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and is the main Saudi international airport. Named after King Abdulaziz Al Saud and inaugurated in 1981, it serves most international travel and is the largest hub for Saudi Arabia's flag carrier Saudia. The airport's Hajj Terminal was specially built for Muslim pilgrims going to Mecca annually on the Hajj.

Description

The airport occupies an area of 105 square kilometres (41 square miles).^[3] Beside the airport proper, this includes a royal terminal, facilities of King 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.^[3]

New Terminal 1

In 2019, the new Terminal 1 at King Abdulaziz International Airport had a soft opening with a number of domestic flights transferred to operate from it. With an floor area of 810,000 square meters, the new terminal is considered one of the largest airport terminal buildings of its kind in the world.^[4] Visitors and passengers will enjoy a number of facilities including new lounges, an 18,000 square meter central garden area and a transport center that links between the building and the car park and train station.^[5] Moreover, the terminal will have a huge aquarium with 10 meters in diameter and 14 meters in height as well as a capacity of million litres of water.^[5] Furthermore, a mosque with a capacity of 3,732 worshippers has been established in the airport.^[5] In August 2019, the airport started moving a number of international flights operated by Saudia to the new terminal [1], and on the 18th of November Etihad has become the first non-Saudi airline to move to the new facility.^[6]

Facilities

٘North Terminal

Hajj Terminal

Because of Jeddah's proximity to the holy city of Mecca, the airport has a dedicated Hajj Terminal, built to handle pilgrims taking part in the rituals associated with the annual Hajj. It 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.^[7] Ten modules, each consisting of twenty-one "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.^[8]

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."^[9]

Other terminals

South Terminal

North Terminal interior

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 South terminal, however, is reported as closed, with all flights having moved to the new Terminal 1.^[10]

Expansion project

The new King Abdulaziz International Airport three-stage development started in 2006, and is currently scheduled for an official opening in mid 2019.^[11] However, as of 2018 local flights have been landing at the airport.^[12] The project is designed to increase the airport's yearly capacity from 13 million to 80 million passengers.^{[citation needed]}

The expansion includes a brand-new passenger terminal building, a 136-meter tall air traffic control (ATC) tower (the largest in the world), airfield hard-standing and paved areas, lighting, fuel network systems, electronic passenger guidance system and a new 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.

Other facilities

The General Authority of Civil Aviation has the GACA Hangar (Building 364) at the airport.^[13]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Airlines	Destinations
Aegean Airlines	Athens[14]
Afriqiyah Airways	Misrata,[15] Tripoli–Mitiga Seasonal: Bayda, Benghazi
Air Algérie	Algiers
Air Arabia	Alexandria, Assiut,[16] Luxor,[17] Sharjah, Sohag
AirAsia X	Seasonal: Kuala Lumpur–International
Airblue	Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar
Air Cairo	Alexandria, Assiut, Cairo, Sohag
Air China	Hajj: Ürümqi
Air India	Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kozhikode,[18] Mumbai Hajj: Aurangabad
AnadoluJet	Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen[19]
Ariana Afghan Airlines	Kabul, Kandahar[20]
Azerbaijan Airlines	Seasonal charter: Baku[21]
Batik Air	Makassar, Medan,[22] Surakarta/Solo
Biman Bangladesh Airlines	Chittagong, Dhaka Hajj: Sylhet
Citilink	Seasonal: Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta,[23] Medan, Palembang,[23] Semarang, Surabaya, Surakarta/Solo[24]
Daallo Airlines	Hargeisa, Mogadishu
EgyptAir	Alexandria, Cairo Seasonal: Sharm El Sheikh[25]
Emirates	Dubai–International
Eritrean Airlines	Asmara
Ethiopian Airlines	Addis Ababa
Etihad Airways	Abu Dhabi Hajj: Al Ain[26]
FlyBosnia	Seasonal Sarajevo (resumes 17 May 2021)[27]
Flyadeal	Abha,[28] Dammam,[29] Gassim,[29] Riyadh, Tabuk[30]
flydubai	Dubai–International
FlyEgypt	Alexandria, Assiut, Sohag[31]
Flynas	Abu Dhabi, Adana, Algiers, Amman–Queen Alia, Baghdad, Beirut, Dammam, Dubai–International, Erbil,[32] Hatay, Hofuf,[33] Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen, Jizan, Kano, Khartoum, Kuwait, Medina, Riyadh, Sharjah, Sharm El Sheikh, Tabuk, Yanbu[34] Seasonal: Baku,[35] Batumi,[35] Kozhikode,[36] Salzburg (begins 17 May 2021),[37] Sarajevo, Tbilisi, Vienna (begins 17 May 2021)[38]
Garuda Indonesia	Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta Seasonal: Balikpapan, Banda Aceh, Makassar, Medan, Padang, Surabaya, Surakarta/Solo Hajj: Banjarmasin, Palembang
Gulf Air	Bahrain
IndiGo	Bangalore,[39] Delhi, Kozhikode,[40] Mumbai
Iran Air	Hajj: Bandar Abbas, Birjand, Bushehr, Goragan, Isfahan, Medina, Rasht, Shiraz, Urmia, Zahedan
Iraqi Airways	Charter: Baghdad, Basra, Erbil, Najaf, Sulaimaniyah[41]
Jazeera Airways	Kuwait
Jet2.com	Hajj: Leeds/Bradford, Manchester
Jubba Airways	Dubai–International, Galkayo
Kabo Air	Hajj: Abuja, Kano
Kam Air	Kabul,[42] Kandahar
Kuwait Airways	Kuwait
Libyan Airlines	Seasonal: Benghazi, Tripoli–Mitiga
Libyan Wings	Charter: Tripoli
Lion Air	Seasonal: Balikpapan,[43] Banda Aceh,[43] Makassar, Padang, Palembang,[44] Pekanbaru,[45] Surabaya, Surakarta/Solo
Malaysia Airlines	Kuala Lumpur–International Hajj: Alor Setar, Johor Bahru,[46] Kuala Terengganu, Penang
Max Air	Hajj: Kano
Middle East Airlines	Beirut
Nesma Airlines	Ha'il[47]
Nile Air	Alexandria, Assiut,[48] Cairo, Luxor,[48] Sohag[48]
Nordwind Airlines	Moscow–Sheremetyevo
Oman Air	Muscat, Salalah
Pakistan International Airlines	Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan
Pegasus Airlines	Seasonal: Trabzon[49]
Qatar Airways	Doha[50]
Qeshm Airlines	Hajj: Tehran–Imam Khomeini
Royal Air Maroc	Casablanca Hajj: Rabat, Tangier
Royal Brunei Airlines	Seasonal: Bandar Seri Begawan
Royal Jordanian	Amman–Queen Alia
SalamAir	Muscat,[51] Salalah
Saudia	Abha, Abu Dhabi, Amsterdam, Addis Ababa, Al Baha, Alexandria, Algiers, Al Jawf, Al Ula, Al Wajh, Amman–Queen Alia, Ankara,[52] Arar, Athens,[53] Baghdad,[54] Bahrain, Bangalore, Beirut, Bisha, Cairo, Casablanca, Chennai, Colombo–Bandaranaike, Dammam, Dawadmi, Delhi, Dhaka, Doha,[55] Dubai–International, Erbil,[56] Frankfurt, Gassim, Geneva, Guangzhou, Gurayat, Ha'il, Hofuf, Hyderabad, Islamabad, Istanbul, Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta, Jizan, Johannesburg–O.R. Tambo, Kano, Karachi, Khartoum, Kochi, Kozhikode,[57][58] Kuala Lumpur–International, Kuwait, Lahore, London–Heathrow, Los Angeles, Lucknow, Madrid, Malè, Manchester, Manila, Mauritius, Medina, Milan–Malpensa, Multan,[59] Mumbai, Munich, Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta, Najran, New York–JFK, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Port Sudan,[60] Qaisumah, Rafha, Riyadh, Rome–Fiumicino, Sharm El Sheikh, Sharurah, Singapore, Tabuk, Ta'if, Tunis, Turaif, Vienna, Wadi al-Dawasir, Washington–Dulles Seasonal: Adana, Agadir, Ahmedabad, Ahwaz, Annaba, Batam, Constantine, Fes, Ghardaïa, Izmir, Kolkata, Makassar, Málaga,[61] Marrakech, Mashhad, Medan, Oran, Rabat, Surabaya, Tabriz, Tangier
SaudiGulf Airlines	Baghdad,[62] Dammam,[63] Erbil[62]
SCAT Airlines	Almaty[64]
Scoot	Singapore
SpiceJet	Ahmedabad,[65] Delhi, Hyderabad, Kozhikode, Mumbai Hajj: Srinagar[66]
SriLankan Airlines	Colombo–Bandaranaike
Sudan Airways	Khartoum
Syrian Air	Hajj: Damascus
Tarco Airlines	Khartoum
Tunisair	Tunis
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul Hajj: Adana, Ankara, Antalya, Bursa, Denizli, Diyarbakır, Erzurum, Gaziantep, Isparta, Izmir, Kayseri, Konya, Samsun, Sivas, Trabzon, Van
Turkmenistan Airlines	Ashgabat[67]
Utair Aviation	Hajj: Magas, Kazan
Uzbekistan Airways	Tashkent[68]
Yemenia	Aden

Cargo

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Airlines	Destinations
Air France Cargo	Dammam, Hong Kong, Paris–Charles de Gaulle
DHL Aviation	Bahrain
Ethiopian Airlines Cargo	Addis Ababa[69]
Lufthansa Cargo	Frankfurt, Sharjah
Saudia Cargo	Addis Ababa, Amsterdam, Brussels, Dammam, Dhaka, Frankfurt, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo, Khartoum, Kozhikode, Maastricht/Aachen, Lagos, Lucknow, Milan–Malpensa, Mumbai, Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta, New York–JFK,[70] N'Djamena, Riyadh, Shanghai–Pudong, Sharjah

Accidents and incidents

• On 11 July 1991, Nigeria Airways Flight 2120, a Douglas DC-8-61, suffered cabin pressure problems followed by a fire due to a failed landing gear. The pilots tried to return to the airport but failed to reach it and the plane crashed, killing all 247 passengers and 14 crew.^[71]
• On 1 March 2004, PIA Flight 2002, an Airbus A300B4-200, burst two tires whilst taking off. Fragments of the tire were ingested by the engines, causing the engines to catch fire and takeoff was aborted. Substantial damage to the engine and the left wing caused the aircraft to be written off. All 261 passengers and 12 crew survived.^[72]
• On 21 May 2018, an Onur Air-leased Airbus A330-200 (reg TC-OCH), operating as flight 3818 from Medina to Dhaka, was diverted to Jeddah after suffering a malfunction with the nose landing gear. It was forced to make a landing with no nose gear, and the remaining landing gear did not collapse. No injuries were reported.^[73]

See also

• Haramain high-speed railway
• List of things named after Saudi kings
• King Fahd International Airport

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

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External links

Media related to King Abdulaziz International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• King Abdulaziz International Airport new website
• Arrivals and Departures
• Information on the GACA website for the King Abdulaziz Int. Airport Development Project (KADP)
• Airport information for OEJN at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.Source: DAFIF.
• Airport information for OEJN at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
• Current weather for OEJN at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for JED at Aviation Safety Network