King Fahd International Airport (Arabic:مطار الملك فهد الدولي;abbr. KFIA) (IATA:DMM,ICAO:OEDF), also known asDammam International Airport or simplyDammam Airport orKing Fahd Airport, is the international airport servingDammam,Saudi Arabia. The airport is located 31 kilometres (19 miles) northwest of downtown Dammam and is named after the formerKing of Saudi Arabia,Fahd ibn Abdulaziz (1921–2005). The airport serves the entireEastern Province of Saudi Arabia and is one of the four primary international airports in the kingdom.
After its construction it became a USairbase used primarily during theGulf War, the airport has been overseeing commercial operations since 28 November 1999 and has since expanded to provide connections to 43 destinations. Before King Fahd International, the primary airport serving the region was the much busierDhahran International Airport, which has since been converted for military use and is now designated theKing Abdulaziz Air Base. Since 1 July 2017, the airport has been operated and managed by the Dammam Airports Company (DACO).[2][3] Commercial transport was only halted once throughout the history of the airport when, on 21 March 2020, theSaudi Press Agency (SPA) announced the suspension of all domestic and international travel both within and to and from the kingdomdue to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] Domestic operations were reinitiated on 31 May 2020,[5] and international operations resumed on 17 May 2021.[6]
The third largest airport in the kingdom by passenger volume, more than 10 million passengers use King Fahd International each year, and 37 airlines operate flights in and out of the airport. The airport serves as a hub toFlynas andFlyadeal. It previously served as a hub toSaudia as well as the now defunctSama airline andSaudiGulf Airlines. In addition to these airlines, Saudi Aramco Aviation, the airline operated bySaudi Aramco, the state-owned oil giant, uses it to transport employees in and out of strategic locations such asYanbu,Tanajib andShaybah.[2]
The airport is served by two runways; both 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) long, and consists of three terminal buildings: the Passenger Terminal serves mainstream passengers, the Aramco Terminal is used exclusively by Aramco employees to board Saudi Aramco Aviation flights and the Royal Terminal is reserved for use by the Saudi royal family. The busiest route operated between Dammam and another city is round trip toDubai, with 70 weekly flights, an average of 10 flights a day.
Top:A-10 Thunderbolt IIs parked on the taxiway of King Fahd Int'l Airport Bottom: AMIM-104 Patriot missile battery near the airport. The terminal building and mosque can be seen in the background.
The airport is named forKing Fahd (r. 1982–2005), under whose reign it was constructed and inaugurated. Design of the airport building began in 1976. The site master plan was created by architecture firmYamasaki & Associates andBoeing and completed in 1977,[7] with construction beginning in 1983.[8] The basic infrastructure of the airport was complete by the end of 1990, which allowed the U.S-led coalition forces to use the airport during the Gulf War in early 1991 for the storage of military aircraft, including 144A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, among other aircraft such as theAH-64 Apaches andCH-47 Chinooks of the101st Airborne Division, before operations were transferred to theAhmad al-Jaber Air Base inKuwait.
TheGeneral Authority of Civil Aviation of Saudi Arabia inaugurated the King Fahd International Airport and opened it to commercial traffic on 28 November 1999, and all airlines transferred their operations from theDhahran International Airport, which had been in use until then. Dhahran International has since been converted for military usage and was designated theKing Abdulaziz Air Base.
As part of theSaudi Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program, King Fahd International was corporatized in July 2017 under the Dammam Airports Company (DACO), which operates and maintains the airport.[9] In an effort to mitigate the spread ofCOVID-19, all domestic and international flights were suspended until further notice on 21 March 2020. Following strict curfews and lowering in case numbers, domestic flights were allowed to operate once again on 31 May 2020. International flights were finally resumed on 18 May 2021.
The airport is classified as Code E by theICAO which means aircraft such as theBoeing 747-400 andA340-600 could be easily accommodated. It is practically possible for an A380 to use the airport, but this is not recommended, as, in order to accommodate such aircraft, an airport is required to be Code F; only the runways at Dammam Airport meet Code F requirements; the taxiways and gates do not.
KFIA's Domestic Departures and Arrivals FloorKFIA's Arrivals FloorGates from 19 to 27
The six-story main terminal building has a total area of 327,000 m2 (3,520,000 sq ft). Approximately 247,500 m2 (2,664,000 sq ft) were built in the first phase, in addition to 11 fixed passenger boarding bridges serving 15 gates. The original design included 31 fixed boarding bridges. The departure terminal is equipped with several customer counters of which 66 were allocated toSaudia (now shared withflynas), 44 to foreign airlines, and the rest for customs and immigration.
King Fahd International Airport was the first Saudi airport to adoptduty-free stores. In addition to the spaces allocated to duty-free stores, the airport has a separate area for shops specializing in the sale of gifts and all passenger-related goods. This area includes restaurants, cafeterias, and banks, and is located on the arrivals level.
The Royal Terminal is reserved for theroyal family of Saudi Arabia, government personnel, and official guests. It covers an area of 16,400 m2 (177,000 sq ft) and has four bridges linking the terminal to aircraft. It is luxuriously furnished and decorated, and includes extensively landscaped exteriors and grounds. Despite its specialized purpose, the terminal is rarely used by the royal family, who generally prefer to utilize a similar special terminal atKing Abdulaziz Air Base.
The airport has two parallel runways with a length of 4,000 m (13,123 ft) each: 16L/34R and 16R/34L, in addition to taxiways parallel to the runways and a cross taxiway to connect the two runways. The two runways are separated by 2,146 m (7,041 ft). The east runway is generally used bySaudi Aramco while commercial airlines use the west one.
The terminal can only be accessed via Route 605, a secondary expressway linking the cities ofKhobar andDammam in the south, andQatif in the north; to the airport. Route 6466, a minor road andspur of Highway 40, links the highway to Route 605 and the airport. SAPTCO offers bus connections from Khobar and Dammam to the airport. Taxis are available at fixed prices to every major city and town in the kingdom, with private companies such asCareem, a subsidiary ofUber, providing similar services.
The total area of the parking complex is 176,752 m2 (1,902,540 sq ft), distributed among three covered floors, with a maximum capacity of 4,930 cars. Two open parking areas are available beside the rentals to accommodate additional cars. Recently, a new long term Open Parking Area was opened to accommodate long term staying cars. Travelers can use the shuttle bus provided by the airport to go to the passenger terminal and come back.
The Airport Mosque was built on the roof of the car park and in the middle of a landscaped area of 46,200 m2 (497,292 ft²). The architecture of the mosque is an amalgamation ofmodern architecture with traditionalIslamic architectural elements. The mosque can accommodate up to 2,000 worshippers and access to it can be easily gained from the passenger terminal through two enclosed, air-conditioned bridges equipped with moving belts, in addition to a third open bridge.
The airport has its ownplant nursery with a total area of 215,579 m2 (2,320,470 sq ft), which encompasses threegreenhouses and 36,400 square metres (392,000 sq ft) of green fields. The nursery supplies the airport gardens and planted areas with trees and plants. The control tower stands 85.5 m (281 ft) high. The height allows visibility of all operational parts of the airport.
King Fahd International Airport has been cited as the largest airport in the world by theGuinness World Records,[51] owning 780 km2 (300 sq mi). However, most of this area is undeveloped desert and an unofficial website for the airport reports a utilized area of 3,675 hectares (9,080 acres), or 36.75 km2 (14.19 sq mi).[52]
On 29 August 2013, aSaudiaAirbus A321-200 (registration HZ-ASL) operating as Flight 1126 fromKing Abdulaziz International Airport inJeddah to Dammam suffered multiplebird strikes as it flew through a flock of birds during approach. The aircraft safely landed at King Fahd International Airport and no injuries were reported.[54]
On 23 April 2017, a Saudia Airbus A330-300 (registration HZ-AQK) operating as Flight 768 from Jeddah toChennai International Airport diverted to King Fahd International Airport after the pilots received indication of a landing gear malfunction approximately 180 nmi (330 km; 210 mi) east-southeast of Dammam. The flight entered a holding pattern for an hour and landed safely on runway 34R. There were 127 people on board and no injuries were reported.[56]
On 1 February 2020, a SaudiaBoeing 747-400F (registration TC-MCT) operating as Flight 919 from Dammam toZaragoza Airport inSpain suffered a tail strike during take-off on runway 16R. The flight was operated by Turkish cargo carrierAir ACT. The aircraft entered aholding pattern west of the airport before diverting to Jeddah and safely landing at King Abdulaziz International Airport three hours later.[57]
On 18 July 2024, thelanding gear of aNile Air Airbus A321-231 (registration SU-BQL) operating as Flight 232 from Dammam toCairo International Airport caught fire during take-off on runway 34L. The pilotsaborted the take-off and all 186 passengers and 8 crew members were evacuated safely, with no injuries reported.[59]
In January 2025 APIA Airbus A320 landed onto a closed runway owing to operational failure and lack of cockpit communication, there were no injuries but the airline still faces a safety ban from certain counties.[60]
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Media related toKing Fahd International Airport at Wikimedia Commons
