Riyadh Airport

❎ Unverified | The major problem with this airport was the waiting time to receive my boarding pass. The lines at the Etihad ticket counters were long, and there was no organization. There were no roped stanchions. Some travelers cut in front. It was very frustrating and unpleasant. A secondary problem with the airport is the numerous taxi drivers waiting to bring returning travelers into Riyadh. Many of them are rogue and do not have permission to work as drivers: they should not be permitted in the airport area. Also, the official taxi stands should be better marked. The inside of the airport has adequate shopping, cafes, and other amenities. The problem is with arriving/departing.

✅ Verified Review | Used the new Terminal 5 for domestic flights, and was impressed by the new design and spaciousness of the new terminal. Had a good selection of eateries and coffee shops of famous international brands. The free wifi was strong and reliable. If only the international terminals were as good as terminal 5 then Riyadh Airport would be a competitor of other Gulf airports such as Dubai and Doha.

✅ Verified Review | Landed at about 3 am from an Abu Dhabi flight. Although the airport has gone through a lot of improvements in the past 3 years many issues still exist in terms of long queues at passport control. The time taken to bags to arrive on the reclaim belt is ridiculous and in our case we were waiting 45 minutes. Departing is much easier than arriving. The airport authorities must do something to stop taxi touts, they are everywhere and most of them are not even taxi drivers and those that are charge a lot. Better option is to use the London style taxis where you pay up front or better still use UBER or Careem.

✅ Verified Review | Whether one has an adequate experience at Riyadh airport is largely down to the timing - peak times are simply awful. Crowded check-in, long queues for security and immigration and limited seating in departures. Off-peak times are more efficient and offer a bearable experience. Facilities at any time aren't great, food and beverage outlets are expensive, shopping is currently limited and seating areas (even if not crowded) offer only basic comfort. Washrooms floors and counters are consistently soaked with water and only offer basic cleanliness. Some staff are pleasant but security staff are consistently poor. WiFi is free but is a pain to connect to and the signal is inconsistent. Overall, the international terminals have a long way to go before matching other major airports in Middle East - arrival and departure is bearable as are very short transits, but would not like to wait here for longer than a couple of hours between flights.

✅ Verified Review | It was a huge airport. Modern enough, beautiful water-fountain inside and a prayer place for Muslims in public and in a private 'musalla'. There is some chaos of sorts but I would attribute that to last-minute changes with gates. Overall it was a good experience for someone staying in transit for more than 5 hours.

✅ Verified Review | Fastest and smoothest transit I have ever had! It took me less than two minutes to get from the arrival gate to the airlines business class lounge and back to the next flight's gate. Dining and shopping options might seem very limited but all I needed was a quick and hassle-free transit. Would use this airport again.

Since I flew Saudia last year so I happened to be transiting at Riyadh Airport. I found it to be better then Jeddah in terms of Airport facilities and looks. But the staff behavior was rude and unpleasant. No WiFi is available at the airport. Food choices are very limited and seating is very hard to find since the airport is crowded and small. I would suggest to avoid transiting at any Airports in Saudi Arabia if you can.

This is a very old airport and it is put to shame by others in the region. The setting is grimy and dirty. Efficiency on arrival is quite good as long as there is only one flight being processed by Immigration at any one time. It is taking about 20 minutes to get to the parkway. However, if there are several flights arriving at the same time it can be utter chaos! Departure is really awful. Very old lounges, boring and expensive duty free, not nearly enough seating when there are several departures pending. The time in the queue awaiting boarding at the gate can be horrendous.

Worst airport I have ever had the misfortune to travel from and to. Utter chaos due to the Eid holiday rush, which was expected, but the inepitude of airport staff was not. A 10-year old could have done a better job of organizing sensible checking in and queueing. Absolute nightmare.

One of the worst with respect to airport operation management and baggage handling. Passport control services fluctuate depending on the persons in charge and on the number of flights arriving or departing at the same time. I have witnessed quarrels between citizens and passport control officers. Check in counters officers lack seriousness in general. Generally speaking, KKIA has been better before and could still be better. All depends on management and human factor.