Riyadh Air Base (, ar, قاعدة الرياض الجوية), formerly known as Riyadh International Airport from its opening in 1946 until 1982, is a military

air base An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operatio ...

Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, Literal translation, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi Arabic, Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyad ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries by area, fifth-largest country in Asia ...

. It was originally used by

Saudia Saudia ( ar, السعودية '), formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines (), is the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, based in Jeddah. The airline's main operational base is at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. King Khalid Inte ...

as an

airline hub An airline hub or hub airport is an airport used by one or more airlines to concentrate passenger traffic and flight operations. Hubs serve as transfer (or stop-over) points to help get passengers to their final destination. It is part of the ...

before

King Khalid International Airport King Khalid International Airport ( ar, مطار الملك خالد الدولي ', ) is located north of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, designed by the architectural firm HOK, and Arabian Bechtel Company Limited served as the construction manager ...

opened in 1982.

History

Originally used for commercial flights by Saudi Arabia Airlines, the airport witnessed the destruction of Saudia Flight 163 on the night of August 19, 1980. The passengers and crew of the Lockheed L-1011-200, registration HZ-AHK, attempted to evacuate the smoke-filled cabin after landing but were unable to do so, and the aircraft later burst into flames and was destroyed on the tarmac. All 301 people aboard were killed in this disaster. In 1982,

was opened, which led to this airport becoming a Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) air base.

Current Status

King Faisal Air Academy The King Faisal Air Academy () is a military officer academy and flight school in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia founded on 10 January 1968. History Founded on 10 January 1968, by Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, Minister of Defense and Aviation, King F ...

is located at the air base and uses Pilatus PC-9 aircraft for pilot training. The base is also home to the Civil Defense fleet. Riyadh Air Base has two crossing runways, with 19-01 as the primary and 15-33 as the alternate; however, 15-33 is now closed due to ongoing civilian infrastructure construction. The base is also used as a standby base for the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...

Accidents and incidents

*19 August 1980: Saudia Flight 163, a Lockheed L-1011-200 operated by

from Quaid-e-Azam International Airport in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Jeddah International Airport King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) ( ar, مطار الملك عبدالعزيز الدولي) is an international airport serving Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, also known as "Jeddah International Airport"( ar, مطار جدة الدولي). T ...

in Saudi Arabia via Riyadh, suffered a fire just after takeoff from Riyadh. However, due to poor coordination and inexperience, the crew used the entire length of runway 01 instead of performing an emergency stop, and parked on a taxiway at the end of the runway. Additionally, the crew failed to switch off the engines immediately after coming to a stop, preventing firefighters from approaching. The engines were shut down three minutes later, but no evacuation was attempted (likely due to the crew and passengers being either incapacitated or dead from smoke inhalation) and firefighters were unable to gain access into the interior of the aircraft for an additional 23 minutes. The aircraft burst into flames three minutes after firefighter entry, and all 301 persons aboard died. This was the most lethal accident involving an L-1011 and the deadliest aviation accident in Saudi Arabia as of 2021. *24 February 1985: An RSAF KC-130H Hercules aerial refueling tanker was too high when approaching the airport's runway 01. The air traffic controller on duty requested that the aircraft make a 360-degree turn to decrease speed and altitude. However, the pilot instead decided to lose altitude by side-slipping, and the shifting of the fuel load caused the pilot to lose control and crash just short of the runway. All eight crew members died.

References

External links

Airports in Saudi Arabia {{SaudiArabia-airport-stub