Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport

Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport (Arabic: مطار الأمير محمد بن عبد العزيز الدولي) or Medina Airport (IATA: MED, ICAO: OEMA) is a regional airport in Medina, Saudi Arabia. Opened in 1950, it handles domestic flights, while it has scheduled international services to regional destinations such as Cairo, Dubai, Istanbul and Kuwait City. Medina Airport also handles charter international flights during the Hajj and Umrah seasons. The Pilgrims for Hajj and Umrah can enter Saudi Arabia through this airport or through Jeddah Airport only. It is the fourth busiest airport in Saudi Arabia, handling 8,144,790 passengers in 2018.^[1]

Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport مطار الأمير محمد بن عبد العزيز الدولي
IATA: MED ICAO: OEMA
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	TAV Airports Holding
Operator	TIBAH Airports Development Co.
Serves	Medina
Location	Medina, Saudi Arabia
Opened	1950; 75 years ago (1950)
Hub for	Saudia
Elevation AMSL	2,151 ft / 656 m
Coordinates	24°33′12″N 039°42′18″E
Website	www.tibahairports.com
Maps
MED Location of airport in Saudi Arabia Show map of Saudi Arabia MED MED (Middle East) Show map of Middle East MED MED (West and Central Asia) Show map of West and Central Asia MED MED (Asia) Show map of Asia MED MED (Eurasia) Show map of Eurasia MED MED (Afro-Eurasia) Show map of Afro-Eurasia
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 17/35 14,222 4,335 Asphalt 18/36 10,007 3,050 Asphalt
Statistics (2018)
Passengers 8,144,790[1] Air traffic movements 60,665[1]

Overview

Check-in hall interior

A Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 747-300

Parking area of airport

The existing airport achieved international status in 2007. The winning consortium comprised TAV Airports of Turkey and Saudi Oger Limited and Al Rajhi Holding Group, both of Saudi Arabia. In October 2011, the consortium entered into a contract with the Civil Aviation Authority of Saudi Arabia (GACA) to build and operate the Prince Muhammad Bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Al Madinah Al-Munawarah under a 25-year concession. The project reached financial close on 30 June 2012, securing a total of US$1.2 billion financing package from a club of Saudi Arabian banks.^{[citation needed]} The project has been structured as a Build-Transfer-Operate (BTO) project so that GACA retains ownership of the airport infrastructure. The consortium, through the special purpose vehicle incorporated for the project, TIBAH Airports Development Company Limited, will be responsible for the management of the airport, including airside and landside operations. GACA will continue to act as regulator and will be responsible for air traffic control operation.^{[citation needed]}

The 25 year concession is the first full public private partnership (PPP) project in Saudi Arabia. The project has an initial build cost of US$1.2 billion and which may, with future investments and expansions, increase to US$1.5 billion. Whilst there are a number of major transport projects in the pipeline in the GCC region, it was the largest infrastructure project to close in 2012. The three lenders – National Commercial Bank, Arab National Bank and Saudi British Bank – provided a US$1.2 billion Islamic financing package comprising a three-year US$436 million commodity Murabaha equity bridge facility, an 18-year US$719 million procurement facility (in several tranches) and a US$23 million working capital facility. The facilities were primarily denominated in Saudi Riyals (SAR).^[2]

Madinah Airport has been awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification for the recent terminal expansion from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). LEED certification is considered the industry standard in defining and measuring "green," sustainable construction. The award makes Madinah Airport home to the first LEED Gold certified commercial airport terminal in the MENA region.^[3] The project has also been awarded the Middle East Infrastructure Deal of the Year (2013) by Project Finance International Middle East & Africa Awards,^[4] and Best Islamic Finance Project Finance Deal of the Year (2013) by Euromoney Islamic Finance Awards.^[5]

New Madinah airport test operations began on 12 April 2015. A Saudia domestic flight coming from Riyadh landed at 11 a.m. at the new Prince Muhammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah, marking the start of the airport's test run operations. Flight SV1435 was the first to land at the airport. Another aircraft, flight SV1476, then took off at 11:45, the first ever to take off from the new facility.^[6]

Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport was officially inaugurated by King Salman on 2 July 2015.^[7] The airport project was announced as the world's best by Engineering News-Record's 3rd Annual Global Best Projects Competition held on 10 September 2015.^[8][9] The airport is named after King Abdulaziz's son, Crown Prince Muhammad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Air Algerie	Seasonal: Algiers
Air Arabia	Alexandria,[10] Sharjah
Air Astana	Almaty[11]
Air Cairo	Alexandria, Assiut, Sohag
AJet	Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen[12]
Azerbaijan Airlines	Baku
Biman Bangladesh Airlines	Chittagong, Dhaka[13]
Batik Air Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur–International
Citilink	Seasonal: Makassar[14]
Egyptair	Alexandria, Cairo Seasonal: Sharm El Sheikh[15]
Emirates	Dubai–International
Ethiopian Airlines	Addis Ababa
flyadeal	Dammam, Riyadh
Fly Baghdad	Baghdad, Erbil, Kirkuk, Najaf, Sulaimaniyah (all flights suspended)[16]
flydubai	Dubai–International
Flynas	Abha,[17] Abu Dhabi,[18] Algiers, Ankara, Bahrain,[18] Cairo,[19] Dammam, Doha,[18] Dubai–International,[20] Giza,[21] Hofuf,[17] Khartoum (suspended), Kuwait City, Riyadh[18]
Freebird Airlines	Seasonal: İzmir
Garuda Indonesia	Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta Seasonal: Banda Aceh, Makassar, Medan, Surabaya, Yogyakarta–International[22]
Gulf Air	Bahrain
Iran Air	Seasonal: Ahvaz, Ardabil, Bandar Abbas, Birjand, Bushehr, Gorgan, Hamadan, Isfahan, Kerman, Mashhad, Qeshm, Rasht, Sari, Shiraz, Tabriz, Tehran–Imam Khomeini, Urmia, Yazd, Zahedan, Zanjan
Iraqi Airways	Seasonal: Baghdad
Jazeera Airways	Kuwait City
Kam Air	Kabul
Kuwait Airways	Kuwait City
Lion Air	Seasonal: Banda Aceh, Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta, Makassar, Medan, Padang,[23] Pekanbaru, Surabaya
Malaysia Airlines	Kuala Lumpur–International[24] Seasonal: Alor Setar, Johor Bahru,[25] Kuala Terengganu, Penang
Middle East Airlines	Seasonal: Beirut
Nesma Airlines	Ha'il[26]
Oman Air	Muscat
Pakistan International Airlines	Faisalabad, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan,[27] Sialkot[28]
Pegasus Airlines	Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen[29]
Qatar Airways	Doha[30]
Royal Air Maroc	Casablanca Seasonal: Agadir, Fez, Marrakech, Oujda, Rabat, Tangier
Royal Jordanian	Amman–Queen Alia
Salam Air	Muscat[31]
Saudia	Abha, Alexandria, Algiers, Ankara, Baghdad, Bahrain, Cairo, Casablanca, Dammam, Dhaka, Dubai–International, Gassim, Istanbul,[32] Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta, Jeddah, Kano, Kuala Lumpur–International, Kuwait, Muscat, Riyadh, Tabuk Seasonal: Agadir, Fez, Izmir, Jakarta–Halim Perdanakusuma, Karachi, Khartoum (suspended), London–Heathrow, Makassar, Marrakesh, Mumbai, Oujda, Padang, Rabat, Surabaya, Tangier
SCAT Airlines	Seasonal: Almaty[33]
Serene Air	Islamabad
Syrian Air	Seasonal: Damascus (suspended)[34]
Thai Airways International	Seasonal: Hat Yai, Narathiwat
Tunisair	Seasonal: Tunis
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul[35] Seasonal: Ankara, Antalya, Denizli, Gaziantep, İzmir
Utair	Seasonal: Magas, Makhachkala, Kazan[36]
Uzbekistan Airways	Seasonal: Tashkent
Wizz Air	Abu Dhabi

Statistics

Annual passenger traffic at MED airport. See Wikidata query.

Years	Passengers	Movements
2011[37]	3,547,508	32,935
2012[37]	4,588,158	36,499
2013[37]	4,669,181	40,000
2014[37]	5,703,349	48,549
2015[37]	5,831,163	49,031
2016[37]	6,572,787	54,451
2017[1]	7,805,295	58,045
2018[1]	8,144,790	60,665
Source: TAV Investor Relations[38]

Accidents and incidents

• On 16 March 2001, the airport was the scene of a bloody end to the hijacking of a Russian-based Vnukovo Airlines Tupolev Tu-154 jet bound from Istanbul to Moscow carrying 162 passengers. The hijackers, apparently Chechen separatists, had landed at the airport and had demanded additional fuel to fly to Afghanistan. After 18 hours of no negotiations, Saudi Security forces stormed the plane, bringing an end to the hijack. There were three fatalities, including a hijacker, a Turkish passenger, and a Russian Air stewardess.^[39]
• On 5 January 2014, a Saudia Boeing 767-300, flight SV2841 from Mashhad, Iran made an emergency landing after one of its main landing gear failed to deploy. The aircraft was traveling from the Iranian city of Mashhad with 315 passengers on board. 29 people were injured as they exited the aircraft that was in a nose-up position, 11 were taken to hospital, and the rest were treated at the airport's medical center.^[40]

See also

• List of airports in Saudi Arabia
• Transportation in Saudi Arabia
• Amaala International airport
• List of the busiest airports in the Middle East

References

1. "TAV Traffic Results 2018" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 July 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
2. "10 things to know about the Madinah Airport expansion PPP transaction".
3. "PressReleaseDetail". Archived from the original on 30 June 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
4. "PFIe".
5. "Banking industry news & analysis of international finance – Euromoney magazine". 12 February 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
6. "New Madinah airport test operations begins". Saudi Gazette. 12 April 2015. Archived from the original on 30 April 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
7. "King Salman opens mega airport in Madinah". Arab News. 4 July 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
8. "TAV have constructed the world's best airport | Times Aerospace". www.timesaerospace.aero.
9. "ENR Announces Winners of 3rd Annual Global Best Projects Competition". Retrieved 25 October 2017.
10. "Air Arabia Egypt Adds Alexandria – Madinah Route in NW22".
11. "Air Astana will launch flights from Almaty to Medina Service From Oct 2024". businesstraveller. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
12. Liu, Jim. "Turkish Airlines confirms AnadoluJet network transition from late-March 2020". Routesonline. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
13. "Biman Bangladesh adds Madinah / Manchester service in W19".
14. "Citilink Hadir di Makassar. Terbang Tanpa Transit". ujastour.id. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
15. "WEEKLY FLIGHTS FROM JEDDAH AND MADINAH TO SHARM ELSHEIKH". egyptair.com. 9 June 2019.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
16. Mahmoud, Sinan (25 January 2024). "Fly Baghdad grounds planes as Iraqi government orders inquiry into US sanctions". The National. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
17. Liu, Jim. "flynas W19 network expansion". Routesonline. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
18. "FLYNAS FURTHER EXPANDS MADINAH INTERNATIONAL NETWORK IN SEP 2024". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
19. "flynas launches 4 direct weekly flights between Al Medina and Cairo as of December 2". ZAWYA. 16 November 2022.
20. "flynas Adds Madinah – Dubai Route from April 2015". Airlineroute.net. 27 February 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
21. "FLYNAS ADDS MADINAH – GIZA SPHINX SERVICE FROM DEC 2024". aeroroutes.com. 25 November 2024.
22. "Mulai 12 Agustus 2023, Garuda Indonesia Terbangi YIA-Jeddah dan Madinah". Traveldetik. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
23. "Lion Air adds Boeing 737MAX service to Saudi Arabia from Oct 2017". Retrieved 25 October 2017.
24. "Malaysia Airlines adds Madinah scheduled service in W18".
25. "Malaysia Airlines starts Hajj charter". 24 July 2017.
26. "Nesma Airlines expands Hail service in Nov 2016". Retrieved 25 October 2017.
27. "pk_jun15.jpg".
28. "Pakistan International Airlines NW24 International Service Changes". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
29. Liu, Jim. "Pegasus adds Madinah flights from Jan 2020". Routesonline. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
30. "Qatar Airways touches down in Abha, 11th connection in Saudi Arabia". The Peninsula. 2 January 2025. Archived from the original on 3 January 2025. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
31. "Welcome to SalamAir". salamair.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
32. "Saudia NS25 Madinah – Istanbul Aircraft Changes".
33. Liu, Jim. "SCAT adds Saudi Arabia service in W19". Routesonline. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
34. "Rebels said to enter Damascus as army reportedly abandons airport". www.timesofisrael.com. The Times of Israel. 8 December 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
35. "Istanbul New Airport Transition Delayed Until April 5, 2019 (At The Earliest)". 9 April 2019.
36. "UTair Transports Hajj Pilgrims". Archived from the original on 6 October 2015.
37. "TAV Investor Relations". ir.tav.aero.
38. "TAV Traffic Results". Retrieved 25 January 2017.
39. "Bloody end to Chechen HIjack". BBC News. 16 March 2001. Retrieved 29 January 2009.
40. "29 injured as Saudia jet makes emergency landing". gulfnews.com. 5 January 2014.

External links

• Official website