King Abdulaziz International Airport
King Abdulaziz International Airport
King Abdulaziz International Airport (IATA: JED, ICAO: OEJN; colloquially referred to as Jeddah Airport, Jeddah International Airport, or KAIA) is a major international airport serving the cities of Jeddah and Mecca in Saudi Arabia, located 19 kilometres (12 mi) north of Jeddah and covering an area of 112 square kilometres (43 sq mi). In terms of annual passenger count, the airport is consistently the busiest in Saudi Arabia and one of the busiest in the Middle East, owing partly to its unique role in the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Opened in 1981, it was built to replace the now-demolished Jeddah International Airport located in Al-Kandarah, and is named after the founder of Saudi Arabia, King Abdulaziz. The airport shares its airfield with the RSAF King Abdullah Air Base, and has a royal terminal and three operational passenger terminals, including a Hajj Terminal built exclusively to handle increased traffic during the pilgrimage season. It serves as the largest hub for Saudia, the Saudi flag carrier, and as an operating base for national low-cost carriers Flynas and Flyadeal.
Location
21.680°N, 39.157°E · 15 m s. n. m. (48 ft)
General data
Runways · 3
Lengths and surfaces from the public OurAirports register; open runways only.
Radio frequencies · 10
Tower
Ground
Clearance delivery
ATIS (automatic information)
Approach
Reference frequencies for enthusiasts, from OurAirports (community database, public domain), checked on Oct 16, 2026. They may be outdated or incomplete and do not replace the AIP or current charts: not for navigation. In Europe the published frequency may be an 8.33 kHz channel (e.g., 118.505 for 118.500). In MHz.
History
Al-Kandara location
Before the construction of the King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah and the surrounding region were served by the Jeddah International Airport (also called Kandara Airport) located in the southern part of the city. Following a meeting between King Abdulaziz and Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945, the kingdom was gifted a Douglas DC-3 that was operated between the cities of Jeddah, Riyadh, and Dhahran. In 1946, Saudia, the Saudi flag carrier, was set up and operated out of the airport. The company began flying in Hajj pilgrims to the city, first from Lod in Mandatory Palestine, and later from other countries.
In 2022, DAA International, a company owned by the Irish state, won a contract to manage and operate the airport for five years.
Construction
Plans for a new airport located outside of Jeddah were first conceived in 1965 as a small project costing not more than US $20 million. In 1967, two proposals from two American companies were made, with the estimated cost significantly increasing to US $275 million. However, the project was shelved until 1974. As part of the government-launched Airports Development Program, in 1974, a new site was selected north of Jeddah and construction began in 1975. The airport at the time was dubbed new Jeddah International Airport (NJIA). German contractor Hochtief had won the bid, and the project was estimated to cost US $375 million.
In 1976, a total budget of $8 billion USD was dedicated to civil aviation infrastructure in the government's 5-year plan. This funding was made to continue efforts which had previously started in the plan. Of the total budget, $5 billion USD was specifically allocated for the construction of the new airport. The installation of runway and taxiway lighting fixtures was undertaken by Kirkpatrick. Construction work was finalized in 1980. A contract for the maintenance of the airport was awarded to Hochtief AG, and the cleaning contract of the airport was awarded to South Korean companies.
Opening
On 12 April 1981, King Khaled and Prince Fahd inaugurated the airport, naming it King Abdulaziz International Airport, which is named after the founder of the kingdom. Opening ceremonies of the airport were held. Notably, in an embarrassing incident, a Western consul spent five minutes accidentally referring to a bodyguard as "Your Royal Highness" before the crown prince actually arrived, unable to tell them alike. Following inauguration, the airport opened for service on 31 May, and the old Jeddah International Airport was demolished.
Airlines operating here · 76
Airlines using it as a main base (hub)
Other airlines with direct routes
Airlines with current passenger routes from here, according to Wikipedia route tables cross-checked from both ends (October 2026).
Photo: Amineshaker · CC BY-SA 4.0 · view original
Data from OurAirports (public domain) · destinations and airlines from Wikipedia route tables (CC BY-SA, 2026), unless another source is given · profile and photo from Wikidata/Wikimedia Commons (CC0 / CC) · summary and history from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Cite
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This page was last updated on October 15, 2026
APA
Vuelopedia. (2026, October 15). King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED). Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/JED
MLA
“King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED).” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 15 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/airport/JED. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.
Chicago
Vuelopedia. “King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED).” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 15, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/JED.
Harvard
Vuelopedia (2026) King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED). Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/JED (Accessed: 16 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{vuelopedia_en_airport_jed,
author = {{Vuelopedia}},
title = {{King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED)}},
publisher = {Fundación Poderia},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-15},
url = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/JED},
howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/JED}},
urldate = {2026-10-16},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-16}
}Wikipedia
{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/JED |title=King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-15 |access-date=2026-10-16 |language=en}}