King Abdulaziz International Airport

KAIA – King Abdulaziz International Airport (Arabic: مطار الملك عبدالعزيز الدولي‎) (IATA: JED , ICAO: OEJN) is an aviation facility located 19 km to the north of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Named after King Abdulaziz Al Saud, the airport is Saudi Arabia's third largest air facility. The airport occupies an area of 105 square kilometers.^[1] This includes besides the airport proper along with a royal terminal, facilities of the Royal Saudi Air Force and housing facilities for the airport staff.

Construction work of KAIA airport began in 1974, and was finalized in 1980. Finally, on May 31, 1981, the airport opened for service after having been officially inaugurated in April 1981.^[1]

Because of Jeddah's closeness to Islam's holy city of Mecca/Makkah, the airport stands for one feature in particular: the Hajj Terminal specially built to handle foreign pilgrims destined for Makkah to take part in the rituals associated with the annual Hajj. Many airlines from Muslim and non-Muslim countries have used the Hajj Terminal, providing the capacity needed to carry pilgrims to Saudi Arabia. It was designed by the architectural firm S.O.M.

The North Terminal at Jeddah airport is used by all foreign airlines. The South Terminal was reserved for the exclusive use of Saudi Arabian Airlines until 2007 when also the privately owned Saudi carriers Nas Air and Sama Airlines were given permission to use this terminal. Jeddah-KAIA airport serves as a major hub for Saudi Arabian Airlines.

The Jeddah airport Hajj Terminal is estimated to be, at five million square feet (465,000 m²), among the world's largest air terminals after Beijing Capital International Airport, Dubai International Airport and Hong Kong International Airport. It covers over 100 acres (405,000 m²) and is known for its tent-shaped roof. Terminal 3's roof is not actually a tent, but a white colored fiberglass. The Hajj Terminal offers pilgrims many facilities, including a mosque, and can accommodate 80,000 travelers at the same time.

Statistics

Over 10 million passengers use Jeddah-KAIA airport every year.

New Jeddah International Airport

The new development will take place in three stages starting in September 2006, the first of which could be completed in five years. Four new terminal buildings, a high-speed rail link and a capacity for up to 80 million passengers a year are among the targets proposed for the new Jeddah international airport. The project is designed to increase the airport’s capacity initially from 13 million passengers by 30 million passengers each year. The expansion includes airfield hard standing and paved areas, lighting, fuel network systems and storm water drainage network. There will also be a newly constructed support services building, renovation of the existing South and North Terminals and upgrades to the existing runway and airfield systems to accommodate the Airbus A380. The three stages, according to GACA - the General Authority of Civil Aviation of Saudi Arabia, will be marked by staged capacity increase to 30mn / 60mn and 80mn passengers per year. Based on current traffic increases, the existing South Terminal will need to serve about 21 million passengers per year over the next 20 years to meet growing demand. The project has reached the final stages of planning and design, and King Abdullah, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has approved a budget of SR4 billion to build the futuristic new airport to international standards.

Abdullah Al-Rehaimy, president of the General Authority of Civil Aviation, has said that the project will be built by local companies.

The four new crescent-shaped passenger halls will be located to the south of the current international terminal which will be undergoing renovation at the same time. Talal Saaty, speaking at a presentation of the project to Jeddah Governor Prince Mishaal ibn Majed, said that work on the improvements could start as early as this coming September. Operational capacity for the airport, he said, would increase, and denied that upgrading work would hamper traffic throughput. Work on renewing and upgrading the facilities, he said, would be timed to avoid peak traffic flow. Access to the new terminals is still in the planning and purchasing stage. An extension of Prince Majed Street will make access direct and easy; the municipality is currently investigating the location of land needed for the proposed extension and is addressing the problem of the compulsory purchase of property and compensation.

Southward, Prince Majed Street will connect to the Al-Laith Highway, forming a fast north-south transit route. As well as much improved road access, plans have been made for a high-speed rail link serving the airport. Starting at Prince Majed Street, the link will run into the airport and hook up with terminals.

Airlines and destinations

North Terminal

South Terminal

South Terminal

Incidents and accidents

• On 25 September 1959, a Saudi Arabian Airlines Douglas DC-5 crashed shortly after take-off. The cause of the accident was pilot error followed by a stall. All 67 passengers and 5 crew survived.^[2]
• On 11 July 1991, Nationair 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 the airport as the plane crashed killing all 247 passengers and 14 crew.^[3]
• On 1 March 2004, PIA Flight 2002, an Airbus A300B4-200 burst 2 tires whilst taking off from King Abdulaziz International Airport. Fragments of the tire were ingested by the engines, this caused the engines to catch fire and an aborted takeoff was performed. Due to the fire substantial damage to the engine and the left wing caused the aircraft to be written off. All 261 passengers and 12 crew survived.^[4]

References

External links

Saudi Arabia portal

Aviation portal

• King Abdulaziz International Airport
  • 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 Oct. 2006).
• Current weather for OEJN at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for JED at Aviation Safety Network