King Abdulaziz International Airport

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King Abdulaziz International Airport
مطار الملك عبدالعزيز الدولي
Mataar Al-Malik Abdulazīz Ad-Dowaliy
KAAirport-NT.JPG
Hajj Terminal
IATA: JEDICAO: OEJN
Location of airport in Saudi Arabia
Summary
Airport type Military/Public
Operator General Authority of Civil Aviation
Serves Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Location Al Madinah Al Munawwarah Road
Hub for
Elevation AMSL 48 ft / 15 m
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Website www.jed-airport.com
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
16L/34R 13,124 4,000 Asphalt
16C/34C 10,825 3,299 Concrete
16R/34L 12,467 3,800 Asphalt
Statistics (2012)
Passengers 27,111,000
Traffic movement 208,209[1]
Economic impact (2012) $11.5 billion[2]
Social impact (2012) 126.7 thousand[2]

King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) (Arabic: مطار الملك عبدالعزيز الدولي‎‎) (IATA: JEDICAO: OEJN) is an aviation facility located 19 km to the north of Jeddah. Named after King Abdulaziz Al Saud and inaugurated in 1981, the airport is the busiest airport of Saudi Arabia and is third largest airport in the kingdom.

The airport is known for its Hajj terminal, which is specially built for Islamic pilgrims going to Mecca annually and can handle 80,000 passengers at the same time.

Description

The airport occupies an area of 15 square kilometers.[3] Beside the airport proper, this includes a royal terminal, facilities of Prince Abdullah Air Base for the Royal Saudi Air Force, and housing for airport staff. Construction work on KAIA airport began in 1974, and was finalized in 1980. Finally, on 31 May 1981, the airport opened for service after being officially inaugurated in April 1981.[3]

Hajj Terminal

Hajj Terminal

Because of Jeddah's proximity to Islam's holy city of Mecca, the airport is notable for one feature in particular: The Hajj Terminal. Specially built to handle pilgrims to take part in the rituals associated with the annual Hajj, it offers many facilities and can accommodate 80,000 travelers at the same time.

Designed by the Bangladeshi engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan of the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), it is known for its tent-like roof structure, engineered by Horst Berger while part of Geiger Berger Associates.[4] Ten modules, each consisting of 21 "tents" of white colored Teflon-coated fiberglass fabric suspended from pylons, are grouped together into two blocks of five modules and separated by a landscaped mall between the blocks. Only customs, baggage handling and similar facilities are located in an air-conditioned building. The vast majority of the complex, called "Terminal Support Area", is a flexible, open area, conceived to function like a village, complete with souk (market) and mosque. Not enclosed by walls, this area is sheltered from the intense sun while allowing for natural ventilation.[5]

The Hajj Terminal received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1983. According to the jury, "the brilliant and imaginative design of the roofing system met the awesome challenge of covering this vast space with incomparable elegance and beauty."[6]

At five million square feet (465,000 m²), the Jeddah airport Hajj Terminal is estimated to be among the world's largest air terminals after Beijing Capital International Airport, Dubai International Airport and Hong Kong International Airport. Many airlines from Muslim and non-Muslim countries have used the Hajj Terminal.

Other terminals

File:M6aar-jeddah.JPG
South Terminal

Jeddah-KAIA airport serves as a major hub for Saudia who originally had the exclusive use of the South Terminal. In 2007 however, the privately owned Saudi carriers Flynas and Sama Airlines were also given permission to use it. Due to the closure of Sama Airlines, the terminal was only used by Saudia and Flynas. The terminal is now also used by Garuda Indonesia, Kenya Airways, and Korean Air.

The North Terminal at Jeddah airport is used by all other foreign airlines.

Expansion project

The new King Abdulaziz International Airport three-stage development started in September 2006, and is currently scheduled for completion in 2016.[7] The project is designed to increase the airport's yearly capacity from 13 million to 80 million passengers.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]

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[8]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Airlines Destinations Terminal
Aegean Airlines Athens (begins 29 March 2016)[9] North
Afriqiyah Airways Tripoli
Seasonal: Bayda, Benghazi
North
Air Algérie Algiers North
Air Arabia Ras al Khaimah, Sharjah North
Air Arabia Egypt Alexandria-Borg el Arab North
Air Cairo Assiut, Alexandria-Borg el Arab, Cairo, Sohag North
Air Arabia Jordan Amman-Queen Alia North
AirAsia X Seasonal: Kuala Lumpur–International North
Airblue Karachi, Lahore, Multan North
Air India Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kozhikode (resumes 27 March 2016), Mumbai, Srinagar North
AlMasria Universal Airlines Alexandria-Borg el Arab North
Atlasjet Ankara, Istanbul-Atatürk
Seasonal: Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen
Hajj Sarajevo[10]
North
Biman Bangladesh Airlines Chittagong, Dhaka
Hajj: Sylhet
North
British Airways London-Heathrow North (Haji)
Cham Wings Airlines Damascus North
Citilink Seasonal Charter: Jakarta, Medan, Mumbai2, Surabaya North
Daallo Airlines Djibouti, Hargeisa, Mogadishu North
Eaglexpress Seasonal Charter: Kuala Lumpur–International, Surabaya  ?
EgyptAir Alexandria-Borg el Arab, Cairo North
EgyptAir
operated by EgyptAir Express
Seasonal: Sharm el-Sheikh North
Emirates Dubai-International North (Haji)
Eritrean Airlines Asmara North
Ethiopian Airlines Addis Ababa North
Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi North (Haji)
Felix Airways Aden (suspended)[11] North
Fly Damas Damascus[12] North
flydubai Dubai-International North
Flynas Adana, Alexandria-Borg el Arab, Amman-Queen Alia, Assiut, Aswan, Bahrain,[13] Dammam, Dubai-International, Hatay, Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen, Jizan, Khartoum, Kuwait, Luxor, Medina, Riyadh, Sharjah
Seasonal: Sharm el-Sheikh
Charter: Jakarta-Soekarno Hatta, Kuala Lumpur–International, Surabaya
South
Garuda Indonesia Balikpapan,[14] Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta, Surabaya, Medan, Makassar
Hajj: Banda Aceh, Jakarta-Halim Perdanakusuma, Lombok-Mataram, Padang, Palembang
South
Gulf Air Bahrain North (Haji)
Indonesia AirAsia X Jakarta - Soekarno-Hatta North
Iran Air Hajj: Tabriz, Ahwaz, Bandar Abbas, Birjand, Isfahan, Kerman, Kermanshah, Mashhad, Sary, Shiraz, Tehran-Mehrabad, Urmieh, Yazd, Zahedan[15] North
Jazeera Airways Kuwait North
Jet Airways Mumbai North
Jet2.com Hajj: Leeds/Bradford, Manchester North
Jubba Airways Djibouti, Hargeisa, Mogadishu North
Kabo Air Hajj: Abuja, Kano North
Kenya Airways Mombasa, Nairobi-Jomo Kenyatta South
Korean Air Seoul-Incheon1 South
Kuwait Airways Kuwait North
Libyan Airlines Seasonal: Benghazi, Tripoli (all suspended) North
Lion Air Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta
Hajj: Jakarta-Halim Perdanakusuma
North
Lufthansa Addis Ababa,[16] Frankfurt1 North
Mahan Air Hajj: Tabriz, Isfahan, Kerman, Rasht, Tehran-Mehrabad North
Malaysia Airlines Kuala Lumpur–International
Hajj: Johor Bahru, Kuala Terengganu, Penang
North
Max Air Hajj: Kano North
Middle East Airlines Beirut North
Nile Air Alexandria-Borg el Arab, Cairo North
Oman Air Muscat, Salalah[17] North
Pakistan International Airlines Faisalabad,[18] Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Sialkot
Hajj: Rahim Yar Khan, Quetta, Bhawalpur
North (Haji)
Palestinian Airlines El Arish North
Philippine Airlines Dubai-International (begins 17 January 2016),[19] Manila (resumes 2 January 2016)[19] North
Qatar Airways Doha North (Haji)
Royal Air Maroc Casablanca
Hajj: Rabat, Tangier
North
Royal Brunei Airlines Seasonal: Bandar Seri Begawan[20] North
Royal Falcon Amman-Marka North
Royal Jordanian Amman-Queen Alia North
Safi Airways Kabul North
Saudia Abha, Abu Dhabi, Addis Ababa, Aden (suspended), Al Ahsa, Al Baha, Al Jawf, Al Ula,[21] Al Wajh, Algiers, Amman-Queen Alia, Ankara, Arar, Bahrain, Bangalore, Beirut, Bisha, Cairo, Casablanca, Chennai, Coimbatore, Colombo, Dammam, Dawadmi, Delhi, Dhaka, Doha, Dubai-International, Frankfurt, Geneva, Guangzhou, Gurayat, Ha'il, Hyderabad, Islamabad, Istanbul-Atatürk, Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta, Jizan, Kano, Karachi, Johannesburg, Kochi, Khartoum, Kozhikode, Kuala Lumpur–International, Kuwait, Lahore, London-Heathrow, Los Angeles, Lucknow, Madrid, Malè (begins 30 March 2016),[22] Manchester, Manila, Medina, Milan-Malpensa, Mumbai, Nairobi-Jomo Kenyatta, Najran, New York-JFK, Pampanga, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Qaisumah, Qassim, Rafha, Riyadh, Rome-Fiumicino, Sana'a (suspended),[23] Sharurah, Singapore, Tabuk, Ta'if, Toronto-Pearson,[24] Tunis, Turaif,[25] Wadi al-Dawasir, Washington-Dulles, Yanbu
Seasonal: Adana, Agadir, Ahmedabad, Aleppo, Annaba, Batam, Busheher, Constantine, Fes, Ghardaïa, Isfahan, Izmir, Kerman, Marrakech, Medan, Oran, Rabat, Rasht, Sary, Shiraz, Surabaya, Tangier, Tehran-Mehrabad, Urmieh, Yazd, Zahedan
South
Hajj (seasonal)
Scoot Singapore (begins 1 May 2016)[26] North
Shaheen Air International Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Sialkot
Hajj: Faisalabad, Rahim Yar Khan
North
Singapore Airlines Singapore (ends 30 April 2016)1 [27] North
SriLankan Airlines Colombo North
Sudan Airways Khartoum North
Syphax Airlines Sfax North
Toumaï Air Tchad Seasonal: N'Djamena1 North
Tunisair Tunis North
Turkish Airlines Istanbul-Atatürk
Hajj: Adana, Ankara, Antalya, Bursa, Denizli, Diyarbakır, Erzurum, Gaziantep, Isparta, Izmir, Kayseri, Konya, Samsun, Sivas, Trabzon, Van[28]
North
United Airways Dhaka, Karachi North
UTair Aviation Hajj: Magas, Kazan North
Yemenia Aden, Hodeida, Mukalla, Sana'a, Seiyun, Ta'izz (all suspended)[29] North

Notes
^1 These flights may include a stop between Jeddah and the listed destination. However, the airlines do not have rights to transport passengers solely between Jeddah and the intermediate stop.

^2 Citilink's charter flights to Jakarta are served via Mumbai and Medan.

Cargo

Airlines Destinations
Air France Cargo Dammam, Hong Kong, Paris-Charles de Gaulle
DHL International Aviation ME Bahrain
Ethiopian Airlines Cargo Addis Ababa[30]
Lufthansa Cargo Frankfurt, Sharjah
Qatar Airways Cargo Doha
Saudia Cargo Addis Ababa, Amsterdam, Brussels, Dammam, Dhaka, Frankfurt, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Johannesburg-OR Tambo, Khartoum, Lagos, Lucknow, Milan-Malpensa, Mumbai, Nairobi-Jomo Kenyatta, New York-JFK,[31] N'Djamena, Riyadh, Shanghai-Pudong, Sharjah
Turkish Airlines Cargo Cairo, Istanbul-Atatürk[32]

Other facilities

The General Authority of Civil Aviation has the GACA Hangar (Building 364) at the airport.[33]

Accidents and incidents

  • On 25 September 1959, a Saudia reg HZ-AAF Douglas DC-4/C-54A-5-DO, crashed shortly after take-off from Jeddah. The cause of the accident was pilot error followed by a stall. All 67 passengers and 5 crew survived.[34]
  • 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 the airport as the plane crashed killing all 247 passengers and 14 crew.[35]
  • 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 substantial damage to the engine and the left wing, the aircraft was written off. All 261 passengers and 12 crew survived.[36]
  • In April 2015, two Saudi security officers of Jeddah Airport sexually assaulted two Iranian boys while conducting a security search. After this, several hundred protesters marched on the Saudi embassy in Tehran.[37] and Government of Iran suspended flights for pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.[38] Some days later, Saud al-Faisal, apologized to Iran's Ambassador and promised to punish the two Saudi policemen who offended two Iranian teenage pilgrims at Jeddah airport.[39]

See also

Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

  1. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. 3.0 3.1 About KAIA on the GACA website
  4. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. Aga Khan Awards, Project brief.
  6. Aga Khan Award for Architecture.
  7. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. https://www.amadeus.net/home/forms/flights
  10. http://flyingbosnian.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/hajj-charter-flights-from-sarajevo-int.html
  11. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. http://airlineroute.net/2015/11/17/4j-w15/
  13. http://www.tradearabia.com/news/TTN_291660.html
  14. http://airlineroute.net/2015/11/16/ga-bpnjed-dec15/
  15. Iran Air Hajj operations 2012. Iranair.com (21 August 2012).
  16. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. Faisalabad,
  19. 19.0 19.1 http://www.philippineairlines.com/files/8414/4401/2945/International_Winter_Oct_05_2015.pdf
  20. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. Saudi national airline to fly to Toronto | CityNews. Citynews.ca (11 May 2012).
  25. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. Scoot to fly to Saudi Arabia from May, taking over from parent SIA. The Straits Times. 15 October 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  27. http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/scoot-to-fly-to-saudi-arabia-from-may-taking-over-from-parent-sia
  28. Turkish Airlines Hajj operations 2012. Turkishairlines.com (3 February 1933).
  29. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ET cargo schedule. Ethiopianairlines.com.
  31. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. Turkish Airlines Cargo Winter Schedule Archived 4 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  33. "Sectors – Safety & Economic Regulations > Contact Information." General Authority of Civil Aviation. Retrieved on 25 February 2012. "1- GACA HANGAR BLDG.364, KAIA, JEDDAH" – Arabic: "1- مبنى رقم 364 – مطار الملك عبد العزيز الدولي -جدة"
  34. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. Iran suspends Saudi pilgrimage flights over sexual assault allegations Reuters
  38. Iran suspends Saudi pilgrimages over youth assault allegations Al-monitor
  39. Saudi FM vows severest punishment for offenders in Jeddah airport IRNA

External links