King Fahd International Airport (Arabic: مطار الملك فهد الدولي; abbr.

The airport is located 31 kilometres (19 miles) northwest of downtown Dammam and is named after the former King of Saudi Arabia, Fahd ibn Abdulaziz (1921–2005).

After its construction it became a US airbase used primarily during the Gulf War, the airport has been overseeing commercial operations since 28 November 1999 and has since expanded to provide connections to 43 destinations.

[2][3] Commercial transport was only halted once throughout the history of the airport when, on 21 March 2020, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) announced the suspension of all domestic and international travel both within and to and from the kingdom due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The site master plan was created by architecture firm Yamasaki & Associates and Boeing and completed in 1977,[7] with construction beginning in 1983.

[8] The basic infrastructure of the airport was complete by the end of 1990, which allowed the U.S-led coalition forces to use the airport during the Gulf War in early 1991 for the storage of military aircraft, including 144 A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, among other aircraft such as the AH-64 Apaches and CH-47 Chinooks of the 101st Airborne Division, before operations were transferred to the Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base in Kuwait.

Approximately 247,500 m2 (2,664,000 sq ft) were built in the first phase, in addition to 11 fixed passenger boarding bridges serving 15 gates.

In addition to the spaces allocated to duty-free stores, the airport has a separate area for shops specializing in the sale of gifts and all passenger-related goods.

The terminal can only be accessed via Route 605, a secondary expressway linking the cities of Khobar and Dammam in the south, and Qatif in the north; to the airport.

Taxis are available at fixed prices to every major city and town in the kingdom, with private companies such as Careem, a subsidiary of Uber, providing similar services.

The total area of the parking complex is 176,752 m2 (1,902,540 sq ft), distributed among three covered floors, with a maximum capacity of 4,930 cars.