King Khalid International Airport
Riyadh · Saudi Arabia · Asia/Riyadh
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Airport HistoryEst. 1983
King Khalid International Airport opened north of Riyadh in November 1983, replacing the city's older, more centrally located airport and giving Saudi Arabia's capital a vast new gateway built on one of the largest tracts of land occupied by any airport in the world. Its centerpiece is the King Khalid Airport Mosque, one of the largest mosques ever incorporated into an airport complex, alongside a dedicated Royal Terminal reserved for the Saudi royal family and state guests. As Riyadh has grown into a major regional business and pilgrimage-transit hub, the airport has been progressively expanded and modernized. Saudi Arabia is now building the much larger King Salman International Airport nearby as part of Vision 2030, which is expected to progressively take over Riyadh's role as the kingdom's primary aviation gateway in the years ahead.
Construction begins on a large new international airport north of Riyadh, designed to replace the city's existing, more centrally located airfield.
The airport opens in November 1983, named for King Khalid bin Abdulaziz, and becomes Riyadh's primary civil aviation gateway.
A large mosque within the terminal complex, capable of accommodating thousands of worshippers under a distinctive tent-like canopy roof, becomes one of the airport's architectural landmarks.
The city-center airport that King Khalid International replaced continues in use as a military installation (later known as King Salman Air Base), which remains operational until its closure in 2021.
King Salman Air Base, the successor use of Riyadh's original airport site, closes in 2021.
Airport management functions are restructured under Riyadh Airports Company as part of a wider Saudi program to modernize and partially privatize airport operations nationally.
Work continues on the much larger King Salman International Airport nearby, planned under Saudi Vision 2030 to eventually take over Riyadh's primary international air-traffic role, with a phased opening expected over the coming years.
Editorial content compiled from public records and aviation trade press. IMPORTANT — Saudi Arabia is actively developing King Salman International Airport, expected to progressively take over some or all of Riyadh's international air traffic from King Khalid International Airport; the scope, timeline, and eventual status of King Khalid International Airport itself remain in flux as of August 2026. Exact land-area figures and the precise year of the GACA-to-RAC operator transition are approximate.