Title: King Fahd International Airport Content: King Fahd International Airport  , also known by the acronym KFIA, is a Saudi international airport near Dammam. It is the largest airport in the world in terms of area. The airport is an airline hub for the national carrier, Saudia. ==History== Design started in 1976. The site master plan was created by architecture company Yamasaki & Associates and Boeing Aerosystems International. This plan was completed in 1977. Construction began in 1983. The airport opened for commercial operations in November 1999. The airport's basic infrastructure was complete by the end of 1990. The General Authority of Civil Aviation of Saudi Arabia finally opened the new Dammam King Fahd International Airport on November 28, 1999 to commercial traffic. All airlines transferred their operations from Dhahran International Airport, which had been in use until then. ==Location== KFIA is northwest of Dammam. The airport serves the entire Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia and the growing urban complex made up of Dammam, Dhahran, Al Khobar, Qatif, Ras Tanura and Jubail with total population of about 2 million. The airport, in the Eastern Province of the country, is located between Qatif and Dammam, about away from Dammam. It is linked to population areas by two major roads. The northern exit links the airport with Qatif as a 4-lane highway. The southern exit links the Airport with Dammam as a 6-lane highway to King Fahd Road which is now considered as the main road to the airport. Abu Hadriyah Highway, serves as the airport's eastern border while Dammam-Riyadh Highway serves as a southern border. On the airport's southern border, Saudi Aramco occupies an area of 250 km² (97 mi²) which is used for oil drilling and transportation facilities. thumb|A Sama Airlines B737 parked at the airport, bound for Medina. View from the departure lounge of the terminal. right|thumb|Inside the passenger terminal ==Terminals== The terminal has six stories, three of which are allocated for passenger processing. The third level is for arrivals, the sixth level is for departures, and the fourth level is for boarding. There are two partial levels: the mezzanine service level and the mezzanine level (which is the uppermost level). The passenger terminal’s total area is 327,000 m² (3,519,798 ft²). Approximately 247,500 m² (2,664,067 ft²) were built in the first phase, in addition to 11 fixed passenger boarding bridges serving 15 gates out of an original design capacity of 31 fixed boarding bridges. The terminal has several customer counters of which 66 were allocated to Saudia (now shared with Nas Air), 44 to foreign airlines and the rest for Customs and Immigration. ===Services and amenities=== The airport has several duty-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. Several ATMs and currency exchange shops are available in the departure and arrival areas. The airport is served by a multi-storey car park. Smoking is not allowed in the airport. A fine of SR200 is collected breaking the rule. The airport has a smoking room in the Departure area. The airport Mosque is built on the roof of the car park, in the middle of a landscaped area of 46,200 m² (497,292 ft²). The Mosque accommodates two thousand worshipers, access to it can be easily gained from the passenger terminal through two enclosed, air-conditioned bridges with moving belts, in addition to a third open bridge. ===Royal terminal=== The Royal Terminal is reserved for the Saudi Royal Family, government , and official guests. The terminal was built on an area of 16,400 m² (176,528 ft²) and has four bridges connecting the terminal and 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 at King Abdulaziz Air Base. ==Airlines and destinations== ===Cargo airlines=== ==Airport infrastructure== ===Runways=== The airport has two parallel runways with a length of each, in addition to taxiways parallel to the runways and a cross taxiway to connect the two runways. A distance of separates the two runways to facilitate simultaneous takeoff and landing operations. For more convenience and shorter taxiing durations, the east runway is usually used by Saudi Aramco while commercial airlines use the west one, however situation changes if one of the runways is undergoing maintenance. Space has been set aside for the construction of a third parallel runway.  == Related pages== * List of airports in Saudi Arabia