Kuwait International Airport

Kuwait International Airport مطار الكويت الدولي
IATA: KWI – ICAO: OKBK
Summary
Airport type		Military/Public
Operator		Directorate General of Civil Aviation
Serves		Kuwait City, Kuwait
Location		Kuwait City
Hub for		Kuwait Airways Kuwait Airways Jazeera Airways Wataniya Airways LoadAir
Elevation AMSL		206 ft / 63 m
Coordinates		29°13′35″N 47°58′08″E / 29.22639°N 47.96889°E / 29.22639; 47.96889
Website		www.kuwait-airport.com.kw
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
15R/33L	11,155	3,400	Concrete
15L/33R	11,483	3,500	Asphalt
17R/35L	13,943	4,250 under construction	Asphalt
17L/35R	14,452	4,405 under construction	Concrete

Kuwait International Airport (IATA: KWI, ICAO: OKBK) is located in Farwaniyah, Kuwait, 15.5 kilometers (9.6 miles) south of Kuwait City. It is the hub of Jazeera Airways, Kuwait Airways, United Aviation & Wataniya Airways. A portion of the airport complex is designated as Al Mubarak Air Base, which contains the headquarters of the Kuwait Air Force, as well as the Kuwait Air Force Museum.

Structure

The airport underwent a massive renovation and expansion project from 1999-2001, in which the former parking lot was cleared and a terminal expansion was built. This incorporated new check-in areas, a new entrance to the airport, the construction of a multi-story parking structure, and an airport mall with brand stores such as Jansport, Debenham's, and a Virgin Megastore. A food court forms an integral part of this expansion, with a Pizza Express and Starbucks Coffee as well as fast-food outlets such as Fuddruckers and KFC.

Kuwait International Airport can currently handle more than seven million passengers a year. A new general aviation terminal was completed in 2008 under a BOT scheme and is operated by Royal Aviation. By the end of 2008, however, this terminal was modified to handle the scheduled services of the new Wataniya Airways along with general aviation traffic. The terminal was renamed as Sheikh Saad Terminal. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has announced that a new terminal will begin construction, and will increase the annual passenger handling amount to twenty million. Terminal 2, essentially an extension of Terminal 1, is due for completion by 2014. The current airport is currently given a rating of three stars by Skytrax's airport grading exercise along with seven other airports.^[1]

Terminal 2 is under construction, they planned to name it Kuwait Airways Terminal. It will be wholly built for Kuwait Airways waiting for the arrival of their new aircraft in 2011, 2012, 2013. It can handle more than 76 aircraft and more than 5,000,000 of travellers. New check-in areas, with a self-check-in counters special for Kuwait Airways with 2 new runways that are under construction now and a huge airport mall with brand stores such as Carrefour, GAP, Harley Davidson, Starbucks Coffee, Caribou Coffee, Krispy Kreme, McDonald's, Burger King, Hardee's, KFC, Sephora as well as many fast-food and coffee shops outlets. This terminal is due to finish in 2013.

Airlines and destinations

Qatar Airways A320 at the airport

Jazeera Airways A320 parked at the ramp

Terminal 1

Sheikh Saad General Aviation Terminal or Terminal 2

Cargo airlines

Cargo Terminal

Airport Statistics

2004-September 2009

References

External links

• Kuwait International Airport (official site) (English)
• Airport information for OKBK at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.. Source: DAFIF.
• Airport information for OKBK at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective Oct. 2006).
• Current weather for OKBK at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for KWI at Aviation Safety Network