Jeddah New Airport Terminal
Jeddah New Airport Terminal

First Look of Jeddah’s New Airport Terminal

I recently visited the Jeddah Airport New Terminal 1, which has partially opened for flights.

an aerial view of a large airport
Jeddah Airport New Terminal

King AbdulAziz International Airport (KAIA) New Terminal 1 has a total area of 810,000 square meters and a capacity for handling 30 million passengers a year. It will be able to accommodate up to 70 aircraft simultaneously, including the Airbus A380 superjumbo jet.

an aerial view of a runway
Jeddah Airport Terminal 1
an aerial view of a large bridge
Jeddah Airport Terminal 1.

There is a 18,000 square meter green garden in the middle, between the satellites, providing a green and peaceful view for passengers.

an aerial view of a large highway
Jeddah Airport Terminal 1.

The 136 meter-high air traffic control (ATC) tower, with its 9-meter antenna, is the second tallest in the world, after Kuala Lumpur Int'l.

a tall tower with a glass top
Jeddah Airport New Air Traffic Control Tower at 136m high
an aerial view of a runway
an aerial view of a large airport
an aerial view of a runway

Video

Landside

There are a total of 12check- in rows and 200 check-in counters.

an airport with a check-in counter
Check-in counters at New Jeddah Airport Terminal 1
a large airport with a blue ceiling
Check-in counters at New Jeddah Airport Terminal 1
a large airport with many screens
Check-in counters at New Jeddah Airport Terminal 1
a large airport with a large ceiling
Check-in counters at New Jeddah Airport Terminal 1
a large glass ceiling with people walking around

There is a dedicated Premium area for First and Business Class in Row 1-2

a group of trees in a room
Premium Check-in counters at New Jeddah Airport Terminal 1
a room with couches and tables
Premium Check-in area at New Jeddah Airport Terminal 1
a room with couches and a table
Premium Check-in area at New Jeddah Airport Terminal 1
a row of white and brown benches with a lamp on the side
Premium Self - Checkin area at New Jeddah Airport Terminal 1

Airside

The new terminal has 46 gates and 84 boarding bridges. Each gate can handle 2 smaller aircraft or 1 large aircraft.

The distance between check-in to the farthest gate is 1 mile. There is an Automated People Mover (APM) that takes passengers to the International gates, which are further away. There are travellators in most of the sections and a large green garden is visible from the airside.

There will also be an airside hotel and International lounge, which will be opened in Q1 2020.

a walkway with a large window
New Jeddah Terminal - Airside with green garden
paper airplanes from the ceiling

Connectivity

Sixth freedom connectivity is planned for flights arriving and departing out of this terminal. Currently a shuttle bus is taking passengers between this terminal and the other existing terminals.

Saudia Al Fursan Lounge

This is the only lounge which was operational in the terminal during my visit. It is in the domestic side and is located on ground level, below a boarding gate with a great garden view.

a woman standing at a reception desk
Saudia Al Fursan Lounge New Jeddah Airport Terminal 1
a palm tree in a room
Saudia Al Fursan Lounge New Jeddah Airport Terminal 1
a room with chairs and a large window
Saudia Al Fursan Lounge New Jeddah Airport Terminal 1
a room with chairs and a large window
Saudia Al Fursan Lounge New Jeddah Airport Terminal 1

Arrival

Interestingly, KAIA Terminal 1 is home to one of the biggest airport aquariums, 10 meters in diameter and 14 meters in height, with a capacity of a million litres of water.

a large aquarium in a building
Aquarium at arrival area of Jeddah New Terminal 1
an aquarium in a building
Aquarium at arrival area of Jeddah New Terminal 1

Accessibility

Currently the new Jeddah Terminal 1 can be accessed by car only and there are 21,000 covered parking spots. There is a train currently on trail from the new terminal train station directly to Makkah and Medina, saving a bus journey.

Current User and Future

Currently only Saudia (35 destinations below) and Etihad are using the new terminal out of Jeddah. The authorities explained that they hope that all existing South Terminal flights will be moved to the new terminal by Q1 2020.

No date were given about foreign airlines from North Terminal. Hajj terminal will remain open for Hajj.

a group of brown rectangular boxes with white text

The number of passengers using KAIA hit a new record in 2018, by passing the 41.2 million mark.

The long-term goal of the airport is to handle more than 80 million passengers per year by 2035; to keep pace with the growing demand for air travel and plans for attracting more tourists into the Kingdom.

Video