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Friday, June 21, 2013

King Fahd International Airport

King Fahd International Airport (KFIA) is located 25 kilometers (16 mi) northwest of Dammam, Saudi Arabia, and is the largest airport in Saudi Arabia, as well as being the largest airport in the world (in terms of square footage). 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. 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 the entire Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia and in particular the growing urban complex made up of Dammam, Dhahran, Al Khobar, Qatif, Ras Tanura, while its catchment area also covers Jubail with 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 covers an area of 780 square kilometres (190,000 acres).




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.[2] Construction began in 1983, and the airport opened for commercial operations on 28 November 1999.[3]
Troubles
Bad transport roads led many locals to fly via the Bahrain International Airport in neighboring Bahrain. The roads have since been improved. Passenger numbers have increased somewhat, but it remains a largely idle (excess capacity) airport due to a significant portion of the public traveling via the nearby Bahrain International Airport for international flights. In addition, some people who live in Khobar may prefer the Bahrain International Airport even for domestic destinations because of King Fahd's inconvenient location. Many airlines prefer to operate only from Bahrain and bring passengers from Dammam to Bahrain by road which is likely to increase after the planned expansion for King Fahd Causeway is completed (unless serious improvement is implemented in managing the airport in order to attract more airlines and passengers). King Fahd International Airport is fully operational throughout the year. Another reason passengers prefer to travel from Bahrain is customer mistreatment by King Fahd's airport officials (especially passport control officers) and long waiting times which vary from 2 to 5 hours, especially for arrivals from South Asian and North African countries. Non-Saudi passengers often complain about the mistreatment but no action has been taken by the airport nor the immigration authorities to improve.
During OperationDesert Shield/Desert Storm in 1991, the U.S. 101st Airborne Division had their base setup at the airport.
Location
The airport, in the Eastern Province of the country, is located between Qatif and Dammam, about 25 km (16 mi) away from Dammam. It 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 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 (Arabic: ابوحدريّة‎), 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 250 km² (97 mi²) which is used for oil drilling and transportation facilities. However, the area is being claimed by many investors in order to urbanize it for residential and commercial use which if happened will utilize that strategic location, an example would be Ghannam 4 (Airport Jewel) which is the first and only urbanization attempt that had taken place before is was stopped due to involvement in the issue of Aramco Reservations which is the reason why the airport is still far away from the city. If the issue is resolved the terminal would be as close as 10 km to the urban areas of Dammam, as opposed to 20 km now.
A Sama Airlines B737 parked at the airport, bound for Medina. View from the departure lounge of the terminal.

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. 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 customes, 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 (now shared with Nas Air), 44 to foreign airlines and the rest for Customs and Immigration.
Passengers Waiting time
2012 average waiting times for Dammam Airport:
Check in
Domestic flights: 10-30 mins
International flights: 30-60 mins
Passport control
International departures
Saudis and GCC Nationals: 5-10mins
Other Nationals: 20-60mins
International arrivals
Saudis and GCC Nationals: 10-20mins
Other Nationals: 2hrs-6hrs
Baggage claim
For all flights: 20-40mins
Services and amenities
Shops and other services
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.
Currency exchange
Several ATMs and currency exchange shops are available in the departure and arrival areas.
Multi-story car park
The airport is served by a multi-storey car park.
Smoking room
Dammam airport used to allow smoking throughout the airport, with most seats having ash trays built into the arm rest. However, on 20 June 2010, the Council of Ministers urged the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) to ban smoking at all airports and their facilities in the Kingdom on Monday. It also advised GACA to impose a fine of SR200 on people who violate the new regulations. Following the announcement, the airport opened a smoking room in the Departure area and banned smoking elsewhere in the airport.
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 (497,292 ft²). It has an architectural design that combines modern style with the old Islamic style (arches, domes, and other Islamic decorations and carvings on the doors, Mihrab, and Mimbar). 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
Tendering was announced to open in late 2010 for construction of a 5-star airport hotel. According to the airport administration, the hotel will be conveniently located nearby the passenger terminal building, however nothing has been confirmed yet.
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 16,400 m² (176,528 ft²) 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 prefer to utilize a similar special terminal at King Abdulaziz Air Base.

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