Aerial view with old South Terminal, the new Terminal 1 can be seen in the background
King Abdulaziz International Airport[a] (IATA:JED,ICAO:OEJN, colloquially referred to asJeddah Airport,Jeddah International Airport, orKAIA), is a majorinternational airport serving the cities ofJeddah andMecca inSaudi Arabia, located 19 kilometres (12 mi) north of Jeddah and covering an area of 112 square kilometres (43 sq mi). In terms of annual passenger count, the airport is consistently the busiest in Saudi Arabia and one ofthe busiest in the Middle East, owing partly to its unique role in the annualHajj pilgrimage. Opened in 1981, it was built to replace the now-demolishedJeddah International Airport located in Al-Kandarah, and is named after the founder of Saudi Arabia,King Abdulaziz.
The airport shares its airfield with theRSAF King Abdullah Air Base, and has a royal terminal and three operational passenger terminals, including a Hajj Terminal built exclusively to handle increased traffic during the pilgrimage season. It serves as the largest hub forSaudia, the Saudiflag carrier, and as an operating base for nationallow-cost carriersFlynas andFlyadeal.[3]
Before the construction of the King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah and the surrounding region were served by theJeddah International Airport (also called Kandara Airport) located in the southern part of the city. Following a meeting between King Abdulaziz andFranklin D. Roosevelt in 1945, the kingdom was gifted aDouglas DC-3 that was operated between the cities of Jeddah,Riyadh, andDhahran. In 1946,Saudia, the Saudi flag carrier, was set up and operated out of the airport. The company began flying in Hajj pilgrims to the city, first fromLod inMandatory Palestine, and later from other countries.[4]
Plans for a new airport located outside of Jeddah were first conceived in 1965 as a small project costing not more than US $20 million. In 1967, two proposals from two American companies were made, with the estimated cost significantly increasing to US $275 million. However, the project was shelved until 1974. As part of the government-launchedAirports Development Program, in 1974, a new site was selected north of Jeddah and construction began in 1975. German contractorHochtief had won the bid, and the project was estimated to cost US $375 million.[5] Between 1976 and 1980, the total budget of $8 billion USD was set aside for civil aviation in a government 5-year plan. This funding was made to continue efforts which had previously started in the plan. Of the $8 billion, only $5 billion USD was specifically allocated for the construction of the new airport.[6] Construction work was finalized in 1980. A contract for the maintenance of the airport was awarded to Hochtief AG, and the cleaning contract of the airport was awarded to South Korean companies.[7] On 12 April 1981,King Khaled andPrince Fahd inaugurated the airport, naming it King Abdulaziz International Airport, which is named after the founder of the kingdom. Opening ceremonies of the airport were held. Notably, in an embarrassing incident, a Western consul spent five minutes accidentally referring to a bodyguard as "Your Royal Highness" before the crown prince actually arrived, unable to tell them alike.[8] Following inauguration, the airport opened for service on 31 May, and the old Jeddah International Airport was demolished.[9][10]
As part of the 2006 development project, a new passenger terminal was constructed. At 810,000 m2 (8,700,000 sq ft), it is one of the largestairport terminals in the world and can handle 30 million passengers annually.[11] Still referred to as the New Terminal, it underwent asoft opening with a domestic flight landing fromGurayat in May 2018. In March 2019, all of Saudia's domestic operations were transferred to operate from the new terminal.[12] In August 2019,Saudia started moving international operations to the new terminal,[13] and in September of that year, the new terminal was officially named Terminal 1 and inaugurated byKing Salman.[14] On 18 November 2019,Etihad became the first non-Saudi airline to move to the new facility.[15]
Terminal 1 outside view
New facilities at Terminal 1 include new lounges, a 18,000 m2 (190,000 sq ft) central garden, a 14-metre (46 ft) tall aquarium that is 10 metres (33 ft) in diameter.[citation needed]
JED airport aquarium
A mosque with a capacity of 3,732 worshippers.[citation needed]
Jeddah Airport HHSR station inside view
Also a transport center that links the terminal building to the parking area and the Airport–Jeddah station of theHaramain High Speed Railway.[16] It is eventually planned to handle 80 million passengers per year.[citation needed]
Opened in 1981, the South Terminal was one of the first passenger terminals at the airport, and was initially exclusively used by the nationalflag carrier,Saudia. The architectural design of the building was modeled onDulles International Airport in the American capital,Washington, D.C., and incorporated tent-like structures. The terminal building consisted of separate departure and arrival lounges, and gates equipped withjet bridges. In 2007, Saudi low-cost carriersFlynas andSama were also given permission to use the South Terminal, and later, permission to use the terminal was extended to the Indonesian flag carrier,Garuda Indonesia, and another Saudi low-cost airline,Flyadeal. After 40 years of service, on 26 June 2020, it was announced via the airport's official Twitter account that the South Terminal would be closed and its operations would be transferred to the newly-built Terminal 1.[17][18]
The North Terminal at King Abdulaziz International Airport is mainly used by non-Saudi airlines. It was originally planned to accommodate Hajj pilgrimage, however it was far too small and a site further north was selected.[7]
Because ofJeddah's proximity to the city ofMecca, the airport has a dedicated Hajj Terminal built to handlepilgrims taking part in the annual IslamicHajj pilgrimage. The Hajj Terminal can accommodate 80,000 travelers at any given time. The terminal building was designed by Bangladeshi-American architectFazlur Rahman Khan ofSkidmore, Owings & Merrill, and is known for its tent-like roof structure, engineered byHorst Berger ofGeiger Berger Associates.[19] The roof is composed of ten modules, each consisting of twenty-one white tent-likeTeflon-coatedfiberglass structures suspended from pylons. The modules are grouped together into two blocks of five modules each, separated by a landscaped mall between the blocks.[20][21]
Only customs, baggage handling and similar facilities are located in theair-conditioned building. The vast majority of the complex is a flexible, open area called the Terminal Support Area, which is conceived to function like a village, even consisting of asouk 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 theAga Khan Award for Architecture in 1983.[20][21]
A development project for the airport started in 2006. The plan included the construction of Terminal 1 and the tallestair traffic control tower in the world at 136 metres (446 ft), airfield hard-standing and paved areas, lighting, fuel network systems, electronic passenger guidance systems and a new storm water drainage network. The development project also includes newly constructed support services building and upgrades to the existing runway and airfield systems.[22]
In 2023, it was announced that a further expansion of the airport is planned. A fourth runway and a new Terminal 2 are to be built.[23]
TheRoyal Saudi Air Force maintains its presence at the King Abdullah Air Base located towards the north of the airport. The Number 4, Number 16, and Number 20 squadrons of the 8th Wing of the RSAF, operatingLockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft, use it as their home base.[25]
Terminal 1 is connected to theHaramain High Speed Railway mainline via a 3.75-kilometre (2.33 mi) branch line. The station at the airport terminal building was named Airport–Jeddah station to distinguish it from the Al-Sulimaniyah–Jeddah station situated closer to downtown Jeddah. It provides regular connections to the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina, and to theKing Abdullah Economic City.[26]
On 6 February 1991, when the airport was being used as an air base during the Gulf War, aUnited States Air ForceBoeing KC-135 Stratotanker suffered anaccident when two of the KC-135's four engines ripped off and made an emergency landing at the base, two tires burst during the landing.[citation needed]
On 11 July 1991,Nigeria Airways Flight 2120, aDouglas 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.[110]
On 1 March 2004,PIA Flight 2002, anAirbus 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.[111]
In July 2015, a Saudi Arabian Airlines plane was taxiing to the terminal when it crashed into an airport vehicle.[112]
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Saudi Arabia Railways
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
