Jiddah International Airport (1981)
Jiddah International Airport مطار جدة الدولي | |||||||||||||||||||
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 A Saudia Boeing 747 at Kandara Airport in 1977 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Defunct | ||||||||||||||||||
| Operator | Ministry of Defense | ||||||||||||||||||
| Serves | Jeddah and Mecca | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Al-Kandara, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | ||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1946 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Closed | May 1981 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Passenger services ceased | May 1981 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Built | 1939 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 50 ft / 15 m | ||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 21°29′51″N 39°12′36″E / 21.49750°N 39.21000°E | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Runways | |||||||||||||||||||
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Jiddah International Airport, also known as Abbas Ibn Firnas Airport or Kandara Airport (IATA: XZF ICAO: OEJD) was the first airport of Saudi Arabia located within Al-Kandara, Jeddah. It was the original airport serving the cities Jeddah and Mecca in the kingdom before the construction of King Abdulaziz International Airport. It also operated the 8 wing of the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) and its Lockheed C-130 Hercules. The airport handled Haji traffic alongside regular scheduled flights, and Air France had a facility at Jiddah International Airport for its international operations.[1][2]
Al-Kandara, where the airport was located, was considered the capital of Jeddah. It was a popular place to live, because of its proximity to the airport and a seaport. It also has various facilities like hospitals, administrations and accommodations.[3]
History
[edit]Jiddah International Airport’s early history roots back in 1939 as a military airstrip, which was known at the time as Jeddah Airport. In 1937, the Saudi government concluded a contract with Britain for the establishment of Jeddah Airport, and the airstrip opened in 1939.[4]
In 1945, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt gifted the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia a Douglas DC-3, which landed on the airstrip. Following the donation, several earthen airstrips for civil aviation were established around Saudi Arabia. These airstrips were constructed in Jeddah, Riyadh, Dhahran and Hawiyah in Taif, Hofuf, Buraidah, Jazan, Al-Kharj and Afif. This event marked Saudi Arabia’s first civil aviation history.[5]
In 1946, Saudia was set up as an agency of the Ministry of Defense in Jeddah Airport.[6] In 1947, an airport business school was opened, and by 1949, a group of aviation students were sent to study in England after training at Al-Houba Airport on English Tiger Moths. The airstrip also participated in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. A year later in 1950, more students were sent to England, and other defenses sent to the United States of America. In 1951, the students graduated and returned to the kingdom to form the Saudi Air Force.[4]
Beginnings of Civil and Military Aviation
[edit]On October 14, 1952, Jeddah Airport was officially inaugurated and opened under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Saud Bin Abdulaziz.[7] Following the inauguration on November 5, the flag of the Air Force was raised over the first flight hangar in the airport, which was reserved for Air Force usage. The ceremony was attended by His Royal Highness Prince Mishaal bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Defense and Aviation. Afterwards, Air Force schools begun opening in the kingdom, especially the Aviation School which opened in 1953. In the same year, the first civilian air traffic control tower was also built.[8] On January 6, 1954, the Air Force School was opened at the airport.[9]
In 1957, the Saudi Air Force begun major developments in the airport. The first squadrons were established, including the transportation squadron which was equipped with Douglas C-54 Skymasters and Fokker S-13s. The No. 3 Squadron RSAF was also formed with Douglas A-26 Invaders, which was a major component to modernizing the Air Force. The No. 5 Squadron RSAF was also formed, equipped with 20 De Havilland Vampires.[9] In a US report from 1958, Jeddah Airport served as the headquarters for the Royal Saudi Air Force.[10] If in an emergency, American McDonnell F-101 Voodoo Fighter jets and the Martin B-57C Canberra were to operate at the airport alongside the Douglas C-54 Skymaster and Douglas C-124 Globemaster II aircraft for military cargo operations.[10]
Congestion
[edit]In 1958, the Al Ain Azizia administration rushed the construction of the third city, which was made to accommodate the rising number of African hajj pilgrims. Following the decision, five buildings with three floors at an estimated area of 9652 square metres were built, which could accommodate 2000 pilgrims. This project also included the construction of Pilgrim’s Town Square, the entrance to the accommodations and airport.[11] In the 1960s, the construction of Al Hagon Bridge was awarded to The Arab Contractors, Osman Ahmed Osman & Co. The bridge was completed in 1963 and connected Mekka to Jeddah Airport via a series of internal roads, having cost 10,500,000 million Saudi Arabian riyals.[12] By 1964, the control tower was significantly upgraded with 2 storeys and increased height.
During the 1970s, squadrons No. 4 Squadron RSAF, No. 16 Squadron RSAF, and No. 20 under the 8 Wing were established and based at Jeddah Airport.[13] In 1971, runway 15L/33R was constructed parallel to the pre-existing runway. By this time, the old E/W cross-runway had closed.[6]
In 1973, these international airlines served Kandara Airport: Air Algérie, Balkan Bulgarian Airlines, JAT Yugoslav Airlines, Ceskoslovenske Aerolinie (CSA), Ariana Afghan Airlines, Air Afrique, Air Guinée, Afghan Airlines, and Iraqi Airways.[14] In the same year, the administration realized the numbers were increasing, so they rushed the construction of an additional 8 new buildings with an area of 65,935 square metres, able to accommodate 10,000 pilgrims in total. The construction also included an additional transit hall to the airport. In 1975, the first approach radar was installed.[8] In 1979, the city was upgraded to accommodate 30,000 pilgrims arriving from the airport, including sped up arrival procedures and measures.[11]
Reason for closure
[edit]Jiddah International Airport was located in the neighborhood of Al-Kandara, close to the city center of Jeddah. This proximity hindered the airport's capabilities to expand infrastructure. Due to the airport’s deficient capacity, it experienced heavy congestion during Hajj seasons peaking 600 aircraft movements daily by 1978.[1][15]On April 1, 1981, King Abdulaziz International Airport was opened, and Jiddah International Airport was shortly closed afterwards in May. It was given the ICAO code OEJN, which stood for “Jeddah New”. The site of the former airport was to be redeveloped for housing.[16]
Aircraft boneyard
[edit]Located just outside of Jiddah International Airport was an aircraft boneyard, established shortly before the airport closed. Aircraft such as the Douglas A-26 Invader, North American T-28 Trojan, Douglas C-54 Skymaster and the Beechcraft T-34 Mentor have been decommissioned and dumped here.[17]
Layout
[edit]Before the 1960s, the airport originally had two asphalt runways 15/33 10,000 feet long and 150 feet wide (1048 and 46 m) E/W 6,000 feet long and 150 feet wide (1828 and 46 m). In 1971, a second runway was constructed alongside runway 15/33.[10]
Etymology
[edit]The nickname was derived from the neighbourhood of Al-Kandara. Experts claim that it was named after Sheikh Muhammad Bin Omrah Al-Kenaidri, the tribal chief of Al-Kandarah tribe who lived in the area during the 1940s. Other claims included that the word comes from the Turkish word for shoes, or the Turkish word for bloodbath.[3]
Further reading
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Airways: A Global Review of Commercial Flight. Airways International, Incorporated. 2008.
- ^ "| Pilot Nav | Browse all airports in SAUDI ARABIA". www.pilotnav.com. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
- ^ a b "Al-Kandarah: The capital of Jeddah". saudigazette.com. 16 November 2017.
- ^ a b "Year 1372 AH". Al-Marsal. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
- ^ "بالصور: لوحات فنية مذهلة للمؤسس بمطار الملك عبدالعزيز الدولي الجديد بجدة". Hiamag (in Arabic). 2021-07-01. Retrieved 2025-01-06.
- ^ a b "Overview of Saudia's History". Saudia. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
- ^ "OxfordSaudia Aviation Academy on Twitter: "Kandara Airport was the first airport in Jeddah established in 1946 and officially inaugurated in 1952 under King Saud Bin Abdulaziz's patronage."". X (formerly Twitter). OxfordSaudia Aviation Academy. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
- ^ a b Davies, R.E.G. (1995). Saudia – An Airline and its Aircraft. Shrewsbury: Airlife Publishing. p. 56. ISBN 0-9626483-7-X.
- ^ a b "موقع الملك سعود" (in Arabic). King Saud Foundation. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
- ^ a b c "Information on page 27 of Accession Number AD0389670". Defense Technical Information Center. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
- ^ a b "«مدن الحجاج».. ذكريات 7 عقود في أول لبنات إيواء ضيوف الرحمن بجدة". Asharq Al-Awsat (in Arabic). 2019-08-23. Retrieved 2025-01-06.
- ^ "Al Hagon Bridge and Jeddah Airport Internal Ways". Arab Contractors. Osman Ahmed Osman & Co. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
- ^ Hewish, Mark; Sweetman, Bill; Wheeler, Barry C.; Gunston, Bill (1984). Air Forces of the World. London, UK: Peerage Books.
- ^ "1973 Jeddah International Airport, Saudi Arabia". Facebook. The Old Bahrain. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
- ^ Soylu, Harun (2023-12-29). Aviation Manager's Toolkit: Understanding Safety Management Systems: Organizational Blindness in Aviation Management and Leadership. Partridge Publishing Singapore. ISBN 978-1-5437-8116-8.
- ^ Weekly Bulletin. Institut du transport aérien. 1981.
- ^ "Legendary Moments in Military Aviation: Historic Royal Saudi air force aircraft found in the desert after the Jeddah Kandara airport closes in 1981". Legendary Moments in Military Aviation. 2024-05-08. Retrieved 2024-07-06.