Jeddah Airport

The international terminal has seen some improvements and check in was faster than before. Sadly airside there is little to relieve the boredom and despite regular announcements about no smoking this was disregarded by virtually everyone. There are no displays for departures and patchy announcements. There are no jetties and all departures get to enjoy a long bus ride around the airport. Inbound a massive queue for immigration the queue was so long people couldn't get into the door from the bus drop off and even near the front of the queue it took me an hour to get through. No organisation at all and usual pushing in at the front. One baggage belt operating and bags were being removed to avoid overloading.

Going into Jeddah was fine because we simply had to get out. On the return we had to check-in (quick and easy) and wait in the departures are. This shows the age of the airport. I was surprised by how small this area was although it did not get too crowded and by how small the duty-free area was. The worst part was that there was some construction work going on which was very noisy and dusty and no attempt had been made to segregate the work are to reduce the noise and dust getting to the passengers. There were no smoking signs as well as ashtrays on the table in the eating area! I was quite surprised that in such a rich country you get bussed to the aircraft. Overall being in the departures are you would not think you were in such a rich country. At least it was very clean.

King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah has to be one of the oddest airports I've ever been to. The two terminals (not domestic vs international as you might think but Saudia vs foreign airlines) are about 20 kms apart on a ring road that circumnavigates the airport (one of the world's largest in land area). Because my cab driver took me to the incorrect terminal (not entirely his fault I admit) I ended up missing my flight. To re-book on NAS Air Sama and Saudia meant standing for an hour in various lines. After being told by Saudia I could waitlist downstairs (there didn't seem any way to get downstairs nor any rationale as to why waitlisting required one to be in the Arrivals area) I ended up deciding to pack it in and go back to my Jeddah hotel. I hope I have better luck tomorrow. At any rate both the North and South Terminals need a major renovation. They are entirely similar to the worst Indian airports like Delhi or Mumbai. With all that Saudi money why can't they get started on a modern terminal?

I used the Saudi terminal and it was not busy and pleasant I arrived 3 hours prior to my flight. Porter helped me check in at right queue - I gave him 20 Riyals - he wanted more. Check in staff were friendly and efficient as were immigration. Because I had arrived early there were no queues. The waiting area in departures was clean and someone was clearing up. There is a cafe area and they charge 10 Riyals for a coffee and forced me to take a bun - they said it was part of the package. Tea was 3 riyals (no bun). Duty free shop is small but adequate enough to waste ones time window shopping. They accept £ and $ currency at the duty free and return the change in Saudi currency (though the rate isn't great - but not bad for the convenience). The waiting area near the cafe was very clean with massive windows overlooking the airport. The only drawback is that the displays on the departure gates dont work and I never heard our call for boarding in English. I had to keep checking for a queue. All the gates are next to each other within easy view so it wasn't too difficult - but an english announcement would have been nice.

For an oil-rich country Jeddah airport certainly doesn't feel like it's in one. First after paying the porter 10 riyals he walked us up to the check-in counter line and bailed on us explaining that one of these desks will take your luggage. In Abu Dhabi this would not happen as the porter would extend further courtesy to get you ahead. So then you have no clue which desk exactly you have to check-in at as the screens above the counters don't function. There's no proper queue. An airport security guy comes by and asks where we are going and directs us to cut into a line at a different counter. Couldn't get a word in to ask him any other questions as he disappeared pointing to people to jump into different queues. Finally we find out the check-in attendant where we stood at the previous queue was indeed taking in passengers from our flights. We were fortunate to jump back in. The weight machines are like a blast from the past. Afterwards at another point 15 minutes standing in line to get past a security officer for the immigration counter inside we finally reach the front only to be told we need to fill out immigration cards. Great. We do and return to him only to find he's not there and they're letting everyone to the immigration counter (though they still had to fill out the cards at the counter)! We finally reach the boarding lounge. We decide to buy some food from the cafe'. We wanted only a simple meal but the employees kept adding fruit salads cake deserts and croissants onto our trays even though we asked them not to they replied back saying it was standard. We had to pay 108 riyals for what we thought would have been some simple meal with complimentary snacks. Can't help but feel we got purposely ripped. No screen monitor in the main lounge gives the gate number for any of the flights. After an uncourteous official we find a guy who simply tells us to wait for an announcement for the gate number. There was a private lounge and we had a Priority Pass card. It was rejected by a meek smile and a flimsy excuse 'this is a special club sir'. Later I found out the Priority Pass card was suppose to be accepted there. They might have a fancy cafe' and chairs and a quite room and relative cleanliness (repeat: relative to airports in poor countries that is) but they don't hide the efficency of the airport (especially for an airport that is the main point for Hajj and an international airport for one of the richest countries in the world). I'm glad I'm out of there. They are clearly lagging behind the times.

Very chaotic. Be there early for check in especially on the beginnings and ends of weekends and holidays. If your flight is not operated by Saudia then you should be in the north terminal the furthest from town. If you are transiting between a Saudia flight and a non Saudia operated flight you will need to arrange your own transport between the terminals preferably by taxi (a longer distance than you might think). Hopefully the airport will be developed soon.

Just for clarification of some of the posts below regarding the location of terminals at Jeddah. There are two which may appear in time tables as N for north and S or SV for south. The South terminal much closer to town is used exclusively by Saudia for both their domestic (on the left side on entry) and international (on the right side). The north terminal is for all other international flights not run by Saudia. At the moment there are no other domestic carriers other than Saudia though there are plans to launch these. Saudia also has a few code share flights (such as with Gulf Air to Bahrain) so these depart from the North terminal which sometimes catches people out. If you are transiting between Saudia and any other airline you will therefore have to make the long journey around the airport perimeter by taxi. Transit between Saudia domestic and international is however just an escalator ride between arrivals on the ground floor and departures above. Both terminals are tatty and run down and pretty chaotic though some improvements have been made to customer flow and retail outlets at the north terminal which makes it a bit less of an ordeal. Advice given in a posting below to leave check in to 30 minutes before departure might work if you are sure the flight is pretty empty but in my experience flights out of Jeddah especially on Saudia are routinely heavily overbooked so trying for a late check in particularly on domestic flights could leave you stuck at the airport without a boarding pass and a long wait for a seat on a later flight. Making use of Saudia's town check in office or the self service check in machines at the airport (available 24 hours before departure) is a good idea. Check in at the Saudia terminal is very hard to follow with check in desks scattered in no particular order around the floor and signage very limited. If you make use of a porter at either terminal he will know where you need to go and also help with the separate check in and baggage drop off system which again is very confusing. Cost of porter fixed at SR10 though he will want SR20 (worth the money though as he well keep an eye on your bags whilst you worry about getting to the front of the check in queue). Plans for renovations of the existing terminals and a brand new terminal are underway but probably some years until any real improvements are seen. Immigration procedures on arrival can be frustrating and time consuming particularly at the north terminal so trying to get of the plane quickly so you are near the front of the queue can be worthwhile. Arrival cards can be in short supply on Saudi flights into Jeddah so if you don't have one completed on the plane these can be found near the entrance to the arrival hall and can be filled in whilst queueing. Incidentally there is a third terminal called the Haj terminal in Jeddah used for 2-3 million pilgrims each Haj season. It said to be the largest roofed area in the world although it is open at the sides. It resembles a sea of white tents floating on stilts and can be seen on entry to the north terminal as the access road passes between the two halves. Both main terminals also get even more crowded and chaotic during the Haj. If you have a choice making your international arrival into Saudi Arabia through Riyadh or Dammam is much more pleasant. Another option for entering the country is to fly into Bahrain and drive over the border across the causeway to Dammam.

I just connected through Jeddah from Saudi Airlines of or Riyadh to catch an Air France flight to Paris. Avoid this airport at all costs. The other posts here are being generous. If you have to go from the Domestic terminal to the International terminal there is no bus and an expensive (50 riyals) 5 minute cab ride to drive you 7/8ths of the way around a circle to get you to the other terminal. Quite possibly the worst airport operation I've ever seen.

Jeddah's King Abdulaziz International Airport consists of two terminal buildings. One for Saudia the national airline; the other for all other carriers. The facility opened in the early 1980s is definitely showing its age with a distinct lack of maintenance. Amenities are less than what one might expect of Saudi Arabia's commercial capital particularly in the airport's non-Saudia terminal. The business class lounge which serves all carriers is small with no windows and appears to be somewhat of an afterthought. Because I tend to avoid Saudia internationally I cannot comment on the Saudia terminal with much accuracy. All in all KAIA needs serious updating to become a 21st century facility.