KADP

King Abdul-Aziz International Airport Development Project

King Abdul-Aziz International Airport Development Project

Introduction

King Abdul Aziz International Airport is an International Airport located at a distance of 19 kilometers north of Jeddah, the first port in Saudi Arabia. The construction of the airport began in 1974, and the airport was opened officially in April 1981. The Airport occupies an area of 105 km ² that includes in addition to the facilities of the airport main facilities for staff accommodation and facilities base for Royal Saudi Air Force in the Western Region (Worldairportguides.com n.d). It also has areas reserved for future expansions. This airport is the most important airport in Saudi Arabia, serving as the head office and operations center company for Saudi Arabian Airlines (Arabianbusiness.com 2011). In addition, it is the gateway to Mecca air, opening the way up for all the pilgrims to the Holy Mosque in Mecca. The airport also features the fourth largest lounge for passengers in the world, with its Hajj Terminal with an area of ??465,000 m². This paper explores the developmental project of this airport in a holistic context. In the first part, the paper presents the airport's dynamics, its infrastructure, mission, vision and signicance to Arab's travel. In the second part, the paper provides the plan, facts and figures of KADP, together with the role of major players in the project's planning and execution. The paper also notes the significance of airport security with reference to its KADP addition.

Airport's Dynamics

King Abdul-Aziz International Airport (KAIA) has four terminals, one of the world's tallest air control towers, a mosque and two parallel runways each 4,200 metre long. In addition to the passenger terminals, it has a Royal Pavilion and a cargo terminal. The airport is operated by the international airport management company Fraport AG of Germany. The following characteristics are noted for each of the aforementioned component.

VIP Terminal and Hajj Terminal

The VIP terminal built specially for the official guests, Kings, and heads of state and other VIPs. Also, the Hajj terminal built specially for the huge numbers of Hajj pilgrims who come to Makkah every year. The Hajj terminal's facilities include prayer areas, rest areas, banks, currency exchanges, post office, telephone facilities, markets, restaurants, general information desks, airline information counters, medical clinic and first-aid services. Table shows quick facts of KAIA:

Airport Code

OEJN

World Area Code

670

Airport Name

King Abdulaziz International Airport

Latitude

21.67959976

Airport Type

Large Airport

Longitude

39.15650177

City

Jeddah

Elevation

48

Region

Makkah

Runway Length

10825 ft

Country

Saudi Arabia (SA)

Runway Length

12467 ft

Continent

Asia (AS)

Runway Length

12106 ft

 

 

IATA Code

JED

 

 

ICAO Code

OEJN

South Terminal

South Terminal is one of the outstanding architectural masterpieces in the world of airports and is characterized by severe bending foundations above the main departure lounge. It was designed to accommodate 2500 passengers / hour and serve all flights of domestic and international Saudi Arabian Airlines. There are forty gates for arrival and a departure hall. It also serves the rest of the positions of VIP cars of their own. Linking them to Jeddah, two ways are quick on by Medina and Mecca by highway (Worldairportguides.com n.d).

North Hall

The North Hall is similar in appearance to ...