Kandara Airport

Kandara Airport
Kandara Airport
	A Saudia Boeing 747 at Kandara Airport in 1977
	IATA: XZF; ICAO: OEJD;
Summary
Airport type	Defunct
Serves	Jeddah and Mecca
Location	Kandara, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Closed	May 1981
Elevation AMSL	50 ft / 15 m
Coordinates	21°28′24″N39°13′06″E / 21.47333°N 39.21833°E
Runways

Last updated October 14, 2024

Kandara Airport (IATA: XZF ICAO: OEJD) was the first airport of Saudi Arabia located within 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 RSAF and its C-130 Hercules. The airport handled Haji traffic alongside regular scheduled flights, and Air France had a facility at Kandara Airport for its international operations.^[1]^[2]

History

In 1946, Saudia was set up as an agency of the Ministry of Defense in Kandara Airport.^[3]

In 1952, Kandara Airport was official inaugurated and opened under the patronage of King Saud Bin Abdulaziz.^{[ citation needed ]} In 1958, the airport served as the headquarters for the Royal Saudi Air Force.^[4] F-101 Fighter jets and the B-57C operated at the airport alongside the C-54 and C-124 aircraft for military cargo operations.^[4]

An image of Jeddah in February 1956 including the former Kandara Airport. JeddahIn1951.jpg — An image of Jeddah in February 1956 including the former Kandara Airport.

In 1971, Kandara Airport was fitted with a new runway parallel to the pre-existing 15/33 runway.^[3] In May 1981, the completion of King Abdulaziz International Airport led to the closure of Kandara Airport. The site of the former airport was later redeveloped for housing.^[5]

Reason for closure

Kandara Airport was located in the neighborhood of Kandara, close to the city center. This proximity limited the airport's ability to expand infrastructure. Due to Kandara Airport's deficient capacity, it experienced heavy congestion during Haji seasons peaking 600 aircraft movements per day.^[1]^[6]

Aircraft boneyard

Located just outside of Kandara Airport, there was an aircraft boneyard. Aircraft such as the A-26 invader, T-28s, C-54 and the T-34 have been decommissioned and dumped here.^[7]

Layout

Before the 1960s, the airfield 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.^[4]

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References

1 2 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.
1 2 "Overview of Saudia's History". Saudia. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
1 2 3 "Information on page 27 of Accession Number AD0389670". Defense Technical Information Center. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
↑ Weekly Bulletin. Institut du transport aérien. 1981.
↑ 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.
↑ "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. 2019-05-08. Retrieved 2024-07-06.

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[:0-1] 1 2 Airways: A Global Review of Commercial Flight. Airways International, Incorporated. 2008.

[2] "| Pilot Nav | Browse all airports in SAUDI ARABIA". www.pilotnav.com. Retrieved 2024-07-03.

[:1-3] 1 2 "Overview of Saudia's History". Saudia. Retrieved July 2, 2024.

[:2-4] 1 2 3 "Information on page 27 of Accession Number AD0389670". Defense Technical Information Center. Retrieved July 2, 2024.

[5] Weekly Bulletin. Institut du transport aérien. 1981.

[6] 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.

[7] "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. 2019-05-08. Retrieved 2024-07-06.

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