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.
