Air Travel

During its development into a modern nation, Saudi Arabia has relied heavily upon air transport to surmount its vast distances. The Kingdom established its national airline, Saudia, in 1945 with a modest fleet of three DC-3s. As the company grew into a world-class airline, it also played a critical role in the Kingdom's development.

Today, Saudia, which changed its name in 1996 to Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAA), is the 25th largest airline in the world and the largest in the Middle East. Its domestic flights serve cities throughout the Kingdom daily, and its international flights serve many destinations in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe and North America. The number of passengers carried annually by SAA has now reached around 14 million, one third of them on international flights. In February 1994, Saudi Arabia announced its decision to purchase replacement aircraft for SAA from Boeing Corp. and McDonnell-Douglas Corp. There are now 139 aircraft in the fleet, and almost half of the 2,000 pilots are Saudi. Privatization of airline services is under way.

The Kingdom has three international and 24 regional and local airports. The newest of its three international airports is King Fahd International Airport in the Eastern Province, replacing the old one at Dhahran. Located 22 miles northwest of Dammam, it has the potential of expansion to serve double the 6 million passengers a year it now handles. The 9-acre air cargo terminal is capable of handling 176,000 tons of freight per year. King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah is being expanded, and by 2010 will alone handle around 21 million passengers a year, up from the current 13 million.  Expansion plans include the Hajj Terminal, which was built exclusively to accommodate some of the two million Muslim pilgrims who perform the pilgrimage annually. Saudi Arabia has also expanded other air transport facilities to handle pilgrim traffic; for example, the Madinah airport, with an additional runway, and larger passenger and Hajj terminals. An industrial park has been established adjacent to the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, one of the most modern in the Middle East, for the production of high-tech, specialized parts for the aviation industry.