# King Abdulaziz International Airport

King Abdulaziz International Airport (IATA: JED, ICAO: OEJN, colloquially referred to as Jeddah Airport, Jeddah International Airport, or KAIA), is a major international airport serving the cities of Jeddah and Mecca in Saudi Arabia, located 19 kilometres (12 mi) north of Jeddah and covering an area of 112 square kilometres (43 sq mi). The airport is the busiest in the kingdom and the third-largest by land area. It is also one of the busiest airports in the Middle East. Opened in 1981, it was built to replace the now-demolished Kandara Airport and is named after the founder of Saudi Arabia, King Abdulaziz.
The airport shares its airfield with the RSAF 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 Islamic Hajj pilgrimage season. It serves as the largest hub for Saudia, the Saudi flag carrier, and as an operating base for national low-cost carriers Flynas and Flyadeal.

## History

Before the construction of the King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah and the surrounding region were served by the Kandara Airport located in the southern part of the city. Following a meeting between King Abdulaziz and Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945, the kingdom was gifted a Douglas DC-3 that was operated between the cities of Jeddah, Riyadh, and Dhahran. 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 from Lod in Mandatory Palestine, and later from other countries. Construction work began in 1974 and was finalized in 1980, before the airport opened for service on May 31, 1981, having been inaugurated a month earlier. Following construction of the King Abdulaziz International Airport, the Kandara Airport was demolished.

## Terminals
### Terminal 1

As part of the 2006 development project, a new passenger terminal was constructed. At 810,000 m$^2$ (8,700,000 sq ft), it is one of the largest airport terminals in the world and can handle 30 million passengers annually. Still referred to as the New Terminal, it underwent a soft opening with a domestic flight landing from Gurayat in May 2018. In March 2019, all of Saudia's domestic operations were transferred to operate from the new terminal. In August 2019, Saudia started moving international operations to the new terminal, and in September of that year, the new terminal was officially named Terminal 1 and inaugurated by King Salman. On November 18, 2019, Etihad became the first non-Saudi airline to move to the new facility.
New facilities at Terminal 1 include new lounges, a 18,000 m$^2$ (190,000 sq ft) central garden, a 14-metre (46 ft) tall aquarium that is 10 metres (33 ft) in diameter, a mosque with a capacity of 3,732 worshippers, and a transport center that links the terminal building to the parking area and the Airport–Jeddah station of the Haramain High Speed Railway. It is eventually planned to handle 80 million passengers per year.
As of November 2024, Terminal 1 handles most of the flight operations coming into Jeddah, approximately handling 19 airlines, including British Airways, Emirates, and Thai Airways International.

### South Terminal

Opened in 1981, the South Terminal was one of the first passenger terminals at the airport, and was initially exclusively used by the national flag carrier, Saudia. The architectural design of the building was modeled on Dulles 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 with jet bridges. In 2007, Saudi low-cost carriers Flynas and Sama 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 June 26, 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.

### North Terminal

The North Terminal at King Abdulaziz International Airport is mainly used by non-Saudi airlines.

### Hajj Terminal

Because of Jeddah's proximity to the city of Mecca, the airport has a dedicated Hajj Terminal built to handle pilgrims taking part in the annual Islamic Hajj pilgrimage. The Hajj Terminal can accommodate 80,000 travelers at any given time. The terminal building was designed by Bangladeshi-American architect Fazlur Rahman Khan of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and is known for its tent-like roof structure, engineered by Horst Berger of Geiger Berger Associates. The roof is composed of ten modules, each consisting of twenty-one white tent-like Teflon-coated fiberglass structures suspended from pylons. The modules are grouped together into two blocks of five modules each, separated by a landscaped mall between the blocks.
Only customs, baggage handling and similar facilities are located in the air-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 a souk 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.

### Development projects

A development project for the airport started in 2006. The plan included the construction of Terminal 1 and the tallest air 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.
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.

### Other facilities

The General Authority of Civil Aviation maintains its presence at the Building 364, the GACA Hangar. An automated people mover (APM), constructed by Alstom, exists to move passengers between Terminal 1 and the North Terminal.
The Royal 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, operating Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft, use it as their home base.

## Haramain High Speed Railway station

Terminal 1 is connected to the Haramain 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 the King Abdullah Economic City.
| Preceding station | Saudi Arabia Railways | Saudi Arabia Railways | Saudi Arabia Railways | Following station |
| King Abdullah Economic Citytowards Medina | | Haramain High Speed Railway | | Jeddahtowards Mecca |

## Runways

The airport is served by three parallel runways designated 16L/34R, 16C/34C, and 16R/34L.

## Airlines and destinations
### Passenger

| Airlines | Destinations |
| Aegean Airlines | Athens |
| Afriqiyah Airways | Misrata, Tripoli–Mitiga |
| Air Algérie | Algiers |
| Air Arabia | Alexandria, Assiut, Cairo, Luxor, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah, Sohag |
| AirAsia X | Seasonal: Kuala Lumpur–International |
| Air Astana | Almaty, Shymkent |
| Airblue | Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar |
| Air Cairo | Alexandria, Assiut, Cairo, Giza, Luxor, Sohag Seasonal: Sharm El Sheikh |
| Air China | Seasonal: Ürümqi |
| Air India | Delhi, Mumbai |
| Air India Express | Hyderabad, Kannur, Kozhikode, Mangalore, Tiruchirappalli |
| Air Samarkand | Samarqand |
| Air Senegal | Seasonal: Dakar–Diass |
| Air Sial | Islamabad, Karachi, Multan, Sialkot, Lahore |
| AJet | Ankara, Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen |
| Akasa Air | Ahmedabad, Mumbai |
| AlMasria Universal Airlines | Cairo |
| Azerbaijan Airlines | Baku |
| Azman Air | Seasonal: Kano |
| Badr Airlines | Port Sudan |
| Batik Air Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur–International |
| Berniq Airways | Benghazi, Misrata, Sabha, Tripoli–Mitiga |
| Biman Bangladesh Airlines | Chittagong, Dhaka, Sylhet |
| British Airways | London–Heathrow |
| Centrum Air | Tashkent |
| Citilink | Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta Seasonal: Banda Aceh, Kediri, Makassar, Medan, Palembang, Solo |
| Cyprus Airways | Larnaca |
| Daallo Airlines | Garowe, Hargeisa, Mogadishu |
| Egyptair | Alexandria, Cairo, Luxor Seasonal: Sharm El Sheikh |
| Emirates | Dubai–International |
| Ethiopian Airlines | Addis Ababa |
| Etihad Airways | Abu Dhabi Seasonal: Al Ain |
| Eurowings | Berlin, Cologne/Bonn Seasonal: Stuttgart (begins 5 November 2025) |
| Flyadeal | Abha, Amman–Queen Alia, Cairo, Dammam, Gassim, Ha'il, Hofuf, Istanbul, Jizan, Karachi, Riyadh, Sohag, Tabuk, Tashkent Seasonal: Sarajevo |
| Flydubai | Dubai–International |
| Fly Jinnah | Lahore |
| Flynas | Abha, Adana/Mersin, Abu Dhabi, Addis Ababa, Algiers, Almaty, Amman–Queen Alia, Asmara, Baghdad, Bahrain, Baku, Beirut, Berlin, Bishkek, Bodrum, Brussels, Casablanca, Constantine, Dammam, Dhaka, Djibouti, Doha, Dubai–Al Maktoum, Dubai–International, Erbil, Gassim, Giza, Hatay, Hofuf, Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen, Jizan, Kano, Karachi, Kuwait City, Lahore, Marseille, Medina, Mumbai, Najran, Namangan, Osh, Riyadh, Salalah, Sarajevo, Sharjah, Sharm El Sheikh, Sohag, Tabuk, Tashkent, Tbilisi, Trabzon, Yanbu Seasonal: Batumi, Bodrum (begins 26 June 2025), El Alamein (begins 1 July 2025), Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta, Kozhikode, Makassar, Medan, Salzburg, Surabaya, Vienna |
| Garuda Indonesia | Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta Seasonal: Banda Aceh, Makassar, Medan, Palembang, Surabaya, Yogyakarta–International |
| Gulf Air | Bahrain |
| IndiGo | Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kozhikode, Mumbai |
| Iran Air | Seasonal: Ahvaz, Ardabil, Bandar Abbas, Birjand, Bushehr, Gorgan, Hamadan, Isfahan, Kerman, Mashhad, Qeshm, Rasht, Sari, Shiraz, Tabriz, Tehran–Imam Khomeini, Urmia, Yazd, Zahedan, Zanjan |
| Iraqi Airways | Seasonal: Baghdad, Basra, Erbil, Najaf |
| ITA Airways | Rome–Fiumicino |
| Jazeera Airways | Kuwait City |
| Jordan Aviation | Amman–Queen Alia |
| Jubba Airways | Dubai–International, Galkayo |
| Kam Air | Kabul, Kandahar, Khost, Mazar-i-Sharif |
| Kuwait Airways | Kuwait City |
| Libyan Airlines | Benghazi, Tripoli–Mitiga |
| Libyan Wings | Seasonal: Tripoli–Mitiga |
| Lion Air | Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta Seasonal: Bandung–Kertajati, Banda Aceh, Makassar, Medan, Padang, Palembang, Pekanbaru, Solo, Surabaya, Yogyakarta–International |
| Malaysia Airlines | Kuala Lumpur–International Seasonal: Alor Setar, Johor Bahru, Kuala Terengganu, Penang |
| Max Air | Seasonal: Kano |
| Middle East Airlines | Beirut |
| Nesma Airlines | Ha'il |
| Nile Air | Alexandria, Assiut, Cairo, Luxor, Sohag |
| Oman Air | Muscat |
| Pakistan International Airlines | Faisalabad, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta, Sialkot |
| Pegasus Airlines | Ankara, Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen, İzmir Seasonal: Trabzon |
| Qanot Sharq | Bukhara, Fergana, Tashkent |
| Qatar Airways | Doha |
| Royal Air Maroc | Casablanca Seasonal: Marrakesh |
| Royal Brunei Airlines | Seasonal: Bandar Seri Begawan |
| Royal Jordanian | Amman–Queen Alia |
| SalamAir | Muscat, Sohar |
| Saudia | Abha, Abu Dhabi, Addis Ababa, Al Baha, Alexandria, Algiers, Al Jawf, Al Ula, Al Wajh, Amman–Queen Alia, Amsterdam, Ankara, Arar, Baghdad, Bahrain, Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Barcelona, Beijing–Daxing, Beirut, Bengaluru, Birmingham, Bisha, Cairo, Casablanca, Chennai, Dammam, Dawadmi, Delhi, Denpasar (begins 2 April 2025), Dhaka, Djibouti (suspended), Doha, Dubai–International, Frankfurt, Gassim, Geneva, Guangzhou, Gurayat, Ha'il, Hofuf, Hyderabad, Islamabad, Istanbul, Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta, Jizan, Kano, Karachi, Kochi, Kozhikode, Kuala Lumpur–International, Kuwait City, Lahore, London–Gatwick, London–Heathrow, Lucknow, Madrid, Malè, Manchester, Manila, Mauritius, Medan, Medina, Milan–Malpensa, Multan, Mumbai, Munich, Muscat, Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta, Najran, Neom Bay, New York–JFK, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Peshawar, Phuket, Port Sudan (suspended), Qaisumah, Rafha, Red Sea, Riyadh, Rome–Fiumicino, Sharm El Sheikh, Sharurah, Singapore, Tabuk, Ta'if, Toronto–Pearson, Tunis, Turaif, Vienna (resumes 3 April 2025), Wadi al-Dawasir, Washington–Dulles Seasonal: Adana/Mersin, Agadir, Annaba, Antalya (begins 19 June 2025), Athens, Batam, Constantine, El Alamein (begins 18 June 2025), Ghardaïa, Heraklion (begins 20 June 2025), İzmir, Los Angeles, Makassar, Málaga, Marrakech, Oran, Salalah, Surabaya, Venice (begins 13 June 2025), Zurich |
| SCAT Airlines | Almaty |
| Scoot | Singapore |
| SereneAir | Islamabad, Peshawar |
| Somon Air | Dushanbe, Khujand |
| SpiceJet | Ahmedabad, Delhi |
| Sudan Airways | Port Sudan (suspended) |
| Syrian Air | Damascus (suspended) |
| Tarco Aviation | Port Sudan |
| Thai Airways International | Seasonal: Hat Yai, Narathiwat |
| Transavia | Lyon, Paris–Orly |
| Tunisair | Tunis |
| Turkish Airlines | Istanbul |
| US-Bangla Airlines | Dhaka |
| Utair | Seasonal: Magas |
| Uzbekistan Airways | Tashkent |
| Wizz Air | Budapest, Larnaca, London–Gatwick (begins 31 March 2025), Milan–Malpensa, Rome–Fiumicino, Venice, Vienna Seasonal: Bucharest–Otopeni |
| Yemenia | Aden, Seiyun |

### Cargo

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

## Accidents and incidents

* On 26 November 1979, Pakistan International Airlines Flight 740, a Boeing 707, crashed soon after takeoff when a fire started on board. There were no survivors among the 156 passengers and crew on board.
* On 6 February 1991, when the airport was being used as an air base during the Gulf War, a United States Air Force Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker suffered an accident 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* In July 2015, a Saudi Arabian Airlines plane was taxiing to the terminal when it crashed into an airport vehicle.