King Khalid International Airport
King Khalid International Airport is an international airport located about north of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This airport consists of five passenger terminals with eight aero-bridges each, a mosque, and parking facilities for 11,600 vehicles. It includes a "Royal Terminal" designated for use by government officials, state guests, and the Saudi royal family. The airport has one of the world's tallest air traffic control towers, and two parallel runways, each in length. It is one of the busiest airports in the Middle East. The airport is owned and operated by the state-owned Riyadh Airports Company.
The Royal Mosque was designed with a significant programme of integral art; the stained glass, by British architectural artist Brian Clarke, was a landmark work in the history of the medium, considered to be the largest and technically most advanced stained glass project of the modern period.
History
Initially, the city and region was served by Riyadh International Airport. However, by the 1970s, the pre-existing airport was operating at max capacity and was surrounded by growing neighborhoods that hindered infrastructure expansion. In 1974, the planning and site selection of a replacement airport for the old airport began as part of the Airports Development Program. In 1976, construction of King Khalid International Airport began. It was designed by architectural practice Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, was opened by HRH King Fahd on 16 November 1983, and opened for scheduled flights on 5 December of the same year. Until then, what is now Riyadh Air Base served commercial flights to and from Riyadh. Increased international and local air transport requirements for Riyadh made the change necessary. Riyadh Air Base, which is much closer to the city center, is operated by the Royal Saudi Air Force.This airport was an alternative landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle.
On 12 March 2023, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, formally announced the establishment of Riyadh Air. Riyadh Air will use the airport as a hub.
Structure and facilities
Terminals
Passenger terminals
There are five main passenger terminals at the airport, four of them were built when the airport started operations in 1983, and Terminal 5 was opened in 2016.- Terminal 1 is used for some international flights, operated by Virgin Atlantic, carriers from the People’s Republic of China, some Middle Eastern airlines and is the base for Flynas. It was reopened on the 24th of December, 2024, after renovations. It also might be used by Riyadh Air.
- Terminal 2 was used for most international flights, although it is now closed for renovations.
- Terminal 3 now hosts most international flights. It also hosted shuttle flights to Doha during the 2022 FIFA World Cup, It now hosts all international airlines except Saudia and Flyadeal and the airlines operating from Terminal 1.
- Terminal 4 used to be a domestic terminal without any jet bridges. When Terminal 5 was opened in 2016, jet bridges were constructed and it became an international terminal. It currently hosts Saudia’s and Flyadeal’s international flights.
- Terminal 5 is the newest terminal which opened in 2016, which is used by Saudia, Flyadeal and Flynas for domestic flights.
Terminal 5 is a rectangular building which can serve 16 narrow-body or 8 wide-body aircraft. Operated by Irish airport operator Dublin Airport Authority, it is Saudi's first privately run airport terminal and can handle 12 million passengers per year.
The Royal Terminal
Heads of state and other high-ranking VIP visitors to the kingdom are greeted in the Royal Pavilion. The Royal Pavilion has open spaces, garden areas, and fountains. A ceremonial hall wide and long connects it to the mosque. The design and geometry of the building are similar to those of the other terminals architecturally and in the aesthetic respect. Arriving guests can use either air bridges or escalators to enter the building from the aircraft parking area. The ceremonial area on the airside has space for special receptions involving honor guards and bands. Like the passenger terminals, the Royal Pavilion has a triangular plan, with a roof composed of 33 arched sections rising to a high point above the ground level. Glass walls and windows illuminate the interior of the building.General aviation terminal
A general aviation complex has been constructed north of runway number 1 for use by private aircraft and is reached by a special access road which runs north from the airport access highway. The general aviation facility includes a passenger terminal, aircraft parking and maintenance facilities, taxiways and parking for visitors, tenants and staff. In addition to privately owned aircraft, this facility accommodates Saudia's special flight services group. It is also home to Alsalam Aircraft Company, Ltd. Programmed Depot Maintenance on Royal Saudi Air Force aircraft is performed at the uniquely designed facility.Expansion
In July 2014, German construction company Hochtief won the bid for the airport expansion which aims at increasing its capacity from 15 million to 25 million and includes construction of a new fifth terminal. The contract was valued at €1.3 billion and will be carried out by Hochtief with a 55% stake, along with Indian engineering company Shapoorji Pallonji Mideast and Saudi Arabian construction company Nahdat Al Emaar. Construction is expected to be completed by May 2019. Terminal 4 is expected to be equipped with required facilities. KKIA has not witnessed any development since its establishment in 1983.King Salman International Airport
King Salman International Airport is a proposed new airport to be built over King Khalid International Airport. The new airport will have no fewer than six parallel runways and capacity for up to 100 million passengers annually.The Royal Mosque
The Royal Mosque is set within a plaza in a central position in the airport. KKIA was the first airport in Saudi Arabia to be built to then-contemporary engineering standards and the mosque was at the time of its construction the most modern mosque in the world. It was considered notable for its use of advances in construction and engineering to create a modern complex in a vernacular Arabic style. It was also noted for its programme of integral art, which was, at that time, the largest in the world and married traditional Islamic decorative elements with the work of contemporary artists. Hexagonal in plan, and enclosing an area of over, its scale, location and design make it the most dominant building in the passenger complex. The mosque can accommodate 5,000 worshippers inside, with capacity for an additional 4,000 in the surrounding plaza. The mosque's dome, in diameter and internally clad in polished bronze, is internally separated from the lower roof of the building by a seven-foot clerestory ring of stained-glass windows, by artist Brian Clarke, below which runs a calligraphic mosaic band designed by Iranian-Armenian painter Edman Ayvazyan. The hand-cut glass and marble mosaic, measuring and fabricated with Clarke's assistance, was the largest in the world at the time. The dome's apex, at above the arrivals level roadway, is higher than all the other structures in the passenger complex with the exception of the control tower and minaret. At the time of its construction, the programme of decorative and integral art for the mosque constituted one of the largest single art projects of the period. In the northeast corner of the mosque plaza, a minaret rises above the plaza level. A spiral stairway inside the minaret provides access to loudspeakers that broadcast the prayer calls five times daily. There are of floor space on the main floor of the mosque and another on the mezzanine floor. A Koranic library off of the main mosque floor has of user space and the same amount for storage space. The library, private offices and lavatories are located along the southeast on the southwest walls.Stained glass
In 1982, through the Vesti Corporation, the British architectural artist Brian Clarke was commissioned to conceive of a scheme of stained glass artworks for the interior of the Royal Mosque. Clarke made a study of Islamic ornament at the Quran schools in Fez and Tangiers for six weeks, and produced a series of abstract designs that engaged with historical pan-Islamic decorative tradition. Completed in 1982 and containing of stained glass, the Royal Mosque was considered to be the largest and technically most advanced stained glass project of the modern period, requiring the full staff of 4 stained glass factories and 150 craftsmen, taking a year to fabricate. The technical demands of the designs required the revival of certain traditional manufacturing techniques, the development of new ones to accommodate the programme of ornate geometric leading, and the deployment of modern technologies and materials, including screenprinting and the acid-etching of float glass.Runways and aprons
| Aspect | Details |
| Runways | 2 |
| Runway length | |
| Runway width | |
| Runway shoulders | x 2 |
| Runway paved blast pads | x 2 |
| Taxiway width | |
| Taxiway shoulders | x 2 |
| The highest point of the landing | |
| Cross taxiway width | |
| Cross taxiway shoulders | x 2 |
| Large-sized aircraft stands | 20 + 12 royal terminal |
| Small-sized aircraft stands | 22 |
| Cargo aircraft stands | 4 |
| General aviation stands | 36 |
| Helipads | 1 Royal terminal |
Air traffic control tower
Centrally located in the passenger terminal complex, between the Royal Pavilion and the mosque is the air traffic control tower standing at high. Twr Freq. 118.6E & 118.8W. GND 121.6. CD 121.8. Riyadh Dept. 120.0 Riyadh Approach 126.0There are 19 separate floor levels in the tower, including the operations area at the base of the tower and a total of of floor space. Six of the 19 floors are considered main floors. These include the operational level at the base of the tower, two equipment floors, an observation floor, a service floor and the cab floor at the top of the tower from which the air traffic controllers overlook the entire airport. The operations floor houses the radar control center for the airport as well as conference rooms, offices and a training area. The two equipment level contain mechanical and electrical equipment and cables, and the service floor contains a kitchen, lounge and lavatories for personnel on duty in the cab. The cab itself contains controller operating positions and electronic and communications equipment. The tower is supplied with two sources of standby power should the regular source of power be interrupted. One source is the standby power supply at the central power plant – three diesel engine generators. In addition, a 300-kilowatt diesel engine located in the tower itself can provide a secondary source of emergency power. The tower is outfitted with the most advanced electronic radar systems and data processing equipment available.
Traffic statistics
| Year | Total passengers | Total aircraft movements |
| 1998 | 8,055,000 | 70,909 |
| 1999 | 8,234,000 | 73,336 |
| 2000 | 8,411,000 | 74,945 |
| 2001 | 8,737,000 | 75,535 |
| 2002 | 9,045,000 | 75,623 |
| 2003 | 9,168,000 | 74,600 |
| 2004 | 9,911,000 | 77,327 |
| 2005 | 10,573,000 | 84,555 |
| 2006 | 11,017,000 | 94,250 |
| 2007 | 11,783,000 | 112,210 |
| 2008 | 11,540,000 | 114,429 |
| 2009 | 12,674,000 | 127,666 |
| 2010 | 13,616,000 | 129,613 |
| 2011 | 14,898,000 | 135,757 |
| 2012 | 17,069,000 | 153,533 |
| 2013 | 18,585,000 | 161,314 |
| 2023 | 37,000,000 | 239,000 |
Ground transportation
Metro
The airport is served by Line 4 of the Riyadh Metro, with the line opening on 1 December 2024. The metro system helps passengers reach the city center quickly and comfortably, and the stations serving the airport include Airport T1–2, Airport T3–4 and Airport T5.Future
The airport will undergo a mass expansion by 2030, by increasing its area to 57 km2., consisting of three to four large passenger terminals, from two runways to six runways among other facilities and amenities. It will be able to handle 120 million passengers per year after 2030, and 185 million passengers per year by 2050. This expansion will include the airport among the world's largest airports.Accidents and incidents
- On 27 July 2010 at 11:38 local time, Lufthansa Cargo Flight 8460, an MD-11 registered D-ALCQ, crashed upon landing at the airport and was damaged beyond repair in the ensuing fire. The pilot in command and the first officer – the only two persons on board – were injured.