King Fahd International Airport
King Fahd International Airport is an airport in Dammam, Saudi Arabia northwest of Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The airport's basic infrastructure was complete by the end of 1990, which allowed the Allied forces engaged in the first Gulf War in early 1991 to use the field for the storage of military aircraft. KFIA was the base used by all USAF A-10s, as well as the US Army's 101st Airborne's AH-64, CH-47, UH-60, and OH-58 helicopters during the Gulf War. It was much more than a storage area. The US Army had many units there before the start of the war, as well as during redeployment from Iraq after. The General Authority of Civil Aviation of Saudi Arabia finally opened the new Dammam King Fahd International Airport on 28 November 1999 to commercial traffic, and all airlines transferred their operations from Dhahran International Airport, which had been in use until then. The new Dammam airport serves most of Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia and in particular the growing urban complex made up of Dammam, Dhahran, Khobar, Qatif, Ras Tanura, while its catchment area also covers Jubail with a total population of about 2.5 million served. The airport is the third major hub for Saudia, and furthermore was a hub for the now defunct Sama Airlines.
The airport is named for Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia from 1982 until his death in 2005.
History
Design and construction
Design started in 1976. The site master plan was created by architecture firm Yamasaki & Associates and Boeing Aerosystems International, and completed in 1977. Construction began in 1983, and the airport opened for commercial operations on 28 November 1999.Military base
Location
The airport, in the Eastern Province of the country, is located between Qatif and Dammam, about away from Dammam. The location of this airport provides unique role as it hosts the Kingdom's shortest international flight to Bahrain as well as operating Saudi Arabia's longest domestic flight between Dammam and Tabuk. The airport is linked to populated areas by two major roads. The northern exit, which used to be the only one, links the airport with Qatif as a four-lane highway. The southern exit links the airport with Dammam as a six-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 the Dammam-Riyadh Highway serves as a southern border. On the airport's southern border, Saudi Aramco occupies an area of, which is used for oil drilling and transportation facilities.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.The passenger terminal's total area is. Approximately 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. At the present time only 7 out of 11 boarding bridges can be used for international flight arrivals as the southern section of the terminal that hosts the remaining four gates is still unused making those gates unconnected to passport control and customs, however since domestic flights are entirely running from the operating northern section, all eleven boarding bridges can be used for domestic flights as well as the departures of international flights.
The terminal is equipped with several customer counters of which 66 were allocated to Saudia, 44 to foreign airlines, and the rest for customs and immigration.
The largest airport in the world in terms of area
Several sources, such as the Guinness Book of World Records mention this airport as the largest in the world, with a total area of 780 square kilometers. The official website, however, publishes an actual utilized airport area of, or 36.75 square kilometers. It does mention a total area of, but that includes the whole property.Passenger Facilities
King Fahd International Airport was the first among Saudi Arabia's international airports to adopt 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. The distinction is largely meaningless however as the Kingdom has no sales or import duties on any products. Recently, as part of larger marketing project named "Golden Circle", several shops and services are planned to open including indoor playgrounds and travel agencies.
The Mosque
The airport Mosque is built on the roof of the car park and in the middle of a landscaped area of 46,200 m². It has an architectural design that combines modern style with the old Islamic style. The Mosque accommodates two thousand worshipers, access to it can be easily gained from the passenger terminal through two enclosed, air-conditioned bridges equipped with moving belts, in addition to a third open bridge.Hotel
A 250-room Hilton hotel is currently under construction and is expected to open late 2018 or early 2019. The hotel will be linked to the airport terminal by a pedestrian bridge to facilitate easy access to and from the hotel.Royal terminal
The Royal Terminal is reserved for the Saudi Royal Family, government personnel, and official guests. The terminal was built on an area of and has four bridges linking 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 prefers to utilize a similar special terminal at King Abdulaziz Air Base.Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Cargo
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.| Aspect | Details |
| Runways | 2 |
| Runway length | |
| Runway width | |
| Runway shoulders | x 2 |
| Runway paved blast pads | x 2 |
| Taxiway width | |
| Taxiway shoulders | x 2 |
| Cross taxiway width | |
| Cross taxiway shoulders | x 2 |
| Large-sized aircraft stands | 15 + 8 royal terminal |
| Medium-sized aircraft stands | 5 |
| Small-sized aircraft stands | 10 |
| Cargo aircraft stands | 3 |
| General aviation stands | 14 |
| Helipads | 2 |
The airport is classified as Code E by ICAO which makes it designed to accommodate large aircraft such as Boeing 747-400 and A340-600. Although it may practically be possible for A380 to use the airport it is not recommended as in order to accommodate such aircraft as Airbus A380 or Boeing 747-8 it requires the airport to be Code F. Only the runways at Dammam Airport meet Code F requirements; the taxiways and gates do not. In May 2009, an Antonov 225 the world's largest aircraft landed at Dammam Airport from Ukraine whilst transporting equipment used for oil drilling and exploration to Tanzania for Schlumberger.
A road for ground support equipment runs along the western side of the central terminal. It is designed to allow GSE to have access to aircraft and also to facilitate the movement of baggage vehicles from aircraft to baggage areas.
Cargo
The two-story air cargo building is constructed on an area of and has a capacity of of incoming and outgoing cargo. The terminal's design allows for transforming the operation system to a fully automatic system equipped with multi-level racks and a container stacking system. When the air cargo facility becomes fully automatic, its capacity will be increased to per year.Cargo village
To enhance its air cargo services, KFIA commenced construction of the new multi-model cargo village facility on 2012 which lasted for two years. The village was inaugurated on 6 April 2015. The cargo village is over. The village offers ease of shipping and cargo services and serves as a hub for global companies, directly serving the eastern province and the rest of the kingdom. The village offers direct access to Saudi Arabia and eliminates the need to ship through neighboring countries.
Currently, DHL Express, , , TNT Express, and UPS are operating as anchor tenants. Additional capacity is coming on-line and will assist the airlines and companies operating in and out of the kingdom.
Control tower
The control tower stands high, equivalent to the height of a 30-story building. The height allows visibility of all parts of the airport operations area. Its total floor area is, and it contains the following three main sections:- Air traffic control level
- Mezzanine level one, which accommodates support equipment for traffic control and communication
- Mezzanine level two, allocated for a kitchen and toilets
Car parking
Saudi Aramco facilities
The general aviation terminal on the east side of Dammam airport is being used exclusively by Saudi Aramco. In addition, an advanced fleet of fuel tankers provides fuel services to all types of commercial aircraft. Saudi Aramco is responsible for supplying fuel and maintaining fuel installations. These include six large tanks with a capacity of 40,000 barrels each, in addition to pumping equipment, filters, loading stations, and the distribution valve network. Saudi Aramco operates regular flights for its personnel, which originate from Dammam to cover Haradh, Tanajib, Shaybah, Hawtah, Al Ahsa, Khurais, Riyadh, Jeddah, and Yanbu, in addition to some remote pump stations, using Boeing 737 and Embraer ERJ-170LR equipment.Nursery and landscaping
King Fahd International Airport has its own plant nursery with a total area of which encompasses three green houses and of green fields. The nursery supplies the airport gardens and planted areas with trees and plants.Statistics
At present, around 9.7 million passengers use King Fahd International Airport annually| Year | Total Passengers | % International | Passenger Growth | Total Cargo | Commercial Aircraft Movements | Movements Growth |
| 2001 | 2,542,000 | 41% | 0.4% | 55,088 | 23,312 | −2.5% |
| 2002 | 2,578,000 | 39% | 1.4% | 53,029 | 23,281 | −0.1% |
| 2003 | 2,613,000 | 40% | 1.4% | 48,634 | 23,308 | 0.1% |
| 2004 | 2,782,000 | 41% | 6.5% | 48,065 | 23,778 | 2.0% |
| 2005 | 3,013,000 | 40% | 8.3% | 49,633 | 24,457 | 2.9% |
| 2006 | 3,341,000 | 43% | 10.9% | 59,610 | 29,162 | 19.2% |
| 2007 | 4,092,000 | 41% | 15.0% | 67,427 | 48,653 | 34.6% |
| 2008 | 4,165,000 | 47% | 1.1% | 97,596 | 50,926 | 3.9% |
| 2009 | 4,422,000 | 48% | 6.8% | 83,652 | 51,166 | 0.7% |
| 2010 | 4,835,000 | 52% | 10.1% | 83,426 | 56,156 | 10.8% |
| 2011 | 5,531,000 | 56% | 15.3% | 82,832 | 62,060 | 11.9% |
| 2012 | 6,422,000 | 56% | 16.5% | 103,421 | 67,390 | 9.6% |
| 2013 | 7,311,000 | 55% | 19.1% | 121,655 | 72,897 | 9.3% |
| 2014 | 8,248,000 | 54% | 12.8% | 115,830 | 79,284 | 9.8% |
| 2015 | 9,407,000 | 53% | 14.0% | 95,321 | 84,803 | 7.8% |
| 2016 | 9,690,000 | 53% | 3.0% | 138,870 | 90,134 | 6.3% |
| Rank | City | Number of flights |
| 1 | Dubai, | 70 |
| 2 | Cairo, | 34 |
| 3 | Abu Dhabi, | 28 |
| 4 | Bahrain, | 28 |
| 5 | Delhi, | 21 |
| 6 | Sharjah, | 18 |
| 7 | Muscat, | 16 |
| 8 | Mumbai, | 14 |
| 9 | Istanbul, | 14 |
Ground transportation
RoadThe airport is connected by King Fahd Road, which is considered as the main road to the airport and the longest road in the Dammam metropolitan area.
Bus
SAPTCO offers bus service from the airport to their main stations in Dammam, Khobar, and Jubail.
Taxi
The airport is served by local taxi companies and London Taxi, which provides 24-hour service and is located at the arrivals terminal. Chauffeur service is available; Uber and Careem are also available.
Rail
In August 2016, the airport authority announced that it will connect the airport to the Dammam–Jubail railway, which is currently in its last stages of construction.