Airport Guide

History of Riyadh Airport

One of the newest and largest of the world's major airports, Riyadh International was only opened in 1983, having been designed by the renowned architectural group Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum.

Despite being built to welcome tens of millions of passengers a year to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the airport has also been turned over to military use on several occasions, most notably back in 1991 when it was used by both the US Air Force and the British Army.

Over recent years, the 225 sq km site has seen numerous additions, including the installation of airbridges; a terminal set aside solely for the Saudi Royal Family, other visiting heads of state and certain VIPs; a specially-built mosque capable of welcoming 5,000 worshipers; and a state-of-the-art control tower.

Travelling to Riyadh Airport

Travellers heading to Riyadh International by car are well catered for, being able to make use of some of the best parking facilities offered at any of the world's big airports, with the two three-level garages located on either side of the mosque capable of holding almost 12,000 vehicles between them.

However, those passengers without their own car, or at least a hire car, will mostly be required to jump in a taxi.

 

Cheaper shuttle buses and shared taxis are also available to whish people to and from downtown Riyadh and the city's suburbs.

Airlines Flying from Riyadh Airport

The King Khalid International Airport now handles around 30 million passengers a year, with 175,000 aircraft movements recorded annually as planes jet off to dozens of destinations, both within the Middle East and to elsewhere in the world.

By far the biggest presence at Riyadh International is that of Saudi Arabian Airlines, which offers a range of domestic and international flights.

Within the Middle East region, the flag-flying carrier jets to the likes of Abu Dhabi, Bharain, Muscat and Tehran, while domestically it offers short-haul services to more than 20 cities including Jeddah, Hafar, King Khalid Military City and Wadi Ad Dawasir.

Going further afield, Saudi Arabian Airlines also jets to Bangalore, Beijing, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Madrid, Manchester, Milan, Nairobi, New York, Paris, Rome, Singapore and Washington DC.

At the same time, the Middle East region is well-connected to Riyadh through flights offered by the likes of Air Arabia, Bahrain Air, Etihad, Jazeera Airways, Oman Air, Nas Air, Pamir Airways, Royal Jordanian and Yemenia.

Air India offers flights to several Indian cities, including Delhi, Kochi and Mumbai, while Egypt Air flies to Alexandria and Cairo.

Meanwhile, Air France flies to Paris, British Airways and bmi both offer direct links with London, Cathay Pacific jets to Hong Kong, Ethiopian Airlines to Addis Abba, Lufthansa to both Frankfurt and Doha, and Turkish Airlines to Istanbul.