King Abd al-Aziz International Airport

King Abd al-Aziz International Airport مطار الملك عبد العزيز الدولي
Characteristics
ICAO code	OEJN
IATA code	JED
Coordinates	21 ° 40 '46 " N , 39 ° 9' 24" E Coordinates: 21 ° 40 '46 " N , 39 ° 9' 24" E
Height above MSL	15 m (49 ft )
Transport links
Distance from the city center	19 km north of Jeddah
Basic data
opening	1981
operator	General Authority of Civil Aviation
surface	(including living area) 10,500 ha
Terminals	3
Passengers	26.3 million (2012)
Air freight	265,600 t (2011)
Flight ; movements	246,500 (2012)
Capacity ; ( PAX per year)	about 25 million
Runways
16C / 34C	3299 m × 60 m concrete
16R / 34L	3800 m × 60 m concrete
16L / 34R	3690 m × 45 m asphalt

The International King Abd-al-Aziz Airport , also known as King Abdulaziz International Airport and Airport Jeddah known, a Saudi Arabian international commercial airport near the metropolis of Jeddah .

history

Construction of the airport, which is named after the former king and founder of Saudi Arabia, Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud , began in 1974 and was completed in 1980. The major airport was built turnkey by Hochtief AG . The order was worth eight billion German marks. It was the first of a series of international airports that Saudi Arabia tackled at the end of the 20th century. It opened in April 1982. The airport has three runways, and in 2010 more than 15 million passengers were handled. The airport with its area of 105 square kilometers houses the civilian part with its personnel settlements as well as a military part and has sufficient space reserves for future extensions.

The above-average storage space for charter planes for pilgrims is remarkable . In addition to the pilgrimage flights, the airport also handles numerous year-round flight connections.

Accident in 1991

On July 11, 1991, a Douglas DC-8-61 leased from Nationair Canada crashed on Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 while attempting an emergency landing near the airport. All 261 people on board were killed.

The flight mainly carried Hajj pilgrims and the mechanics who were supposed to get the aircraft ready for take-off were under great time pressure. Several tires were therefore not properly inflated. On the approximately five kilometer long taxiway from the terminal to the runway, the tires in question heated up considerably and burst at the start. This in turn caused a fire in the landing gear well. The machine pulled a plume of smoke behind it when it started, but it disappeared when the landing gear was retracted. However, the fire spread rapidly in the landing gear well and damaged key sensors, so the pilots decided to return to Jeddah. When the landing gear was extended for the emergency landing, the fire received a large supply of oxygen. The fire spread very quickly over the entire aircraft, so that it hit about 2900 meters before the start of the runway.

Hajj terminal

Jeddah Airport is 80 kilometers away from the Muslim pilgrimage site of Mecca . Almost all pilgrims with the destination Mecca arrive via this airport. This means that King Abd al-Aziz Airport is heavily frequented during the Hajj season. During the pilgrimage, airlines from almost all over the world operate flights through this airport, and they also use charter aircraft from other airlines. That is why the airline Alwafeer Air was founded.

A terminal was built just for the additional passengers, which only operates six weeks a year and remains closed for the rest of the year. The terminal essentially consists of canopies that are designed to protect passengers from the sun. With a total area of 40.5 hectares, the tent roof construction is the largest roof construction in the world made of PTFE- coated glass fiber fabrics . Designed by Fazlur Khan and completed in 1982, the Hajj Terminal received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1983 and the Twenty-five Year Award from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 2010 . In January 2012, the American travel guide Frommer’s recognized the Hajj Terminal at King Abd al-Aziz Airport as one of the best in the world.