Saudi Arabian Airlines has started operating to Dawadmi airport in the Central Province of Saudi Arabia.
The airport, designed to handle one million passengers a yea is located 21 km from the city. Dawadmi airport has three lounges for arrivals and departures. The Saudia flight carried passengers to the city from Jeddah. Dawadmi, located west of Riyadh, becomes the airline's 26th domestic destination. The airline will operate four flights weekly to Dawadmi - two each from Jeddah and Riyadh - in the first phase. The Kingdom has three state-of-the-art international airports - in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. Expansion of Jeddah airport's main gateway for Haj and Umrah pilgrims is expected to cost $1.5 billion. Work on the expansion project, expected to start next year, will be completed by the fall of 2010. The project includes construction of new terminals for international and domestic passengers and establishment of 25 air bridges. Arab News said that the expansion will increase the airport's annual capacity from 13 million to 21 million passengers. King Fahd International Airport located 22 miles northwest of Dammam, is the largest in the Kingdom. It is designed to handle 16 million passengers by 2005. The airport's cargo facility can handle 176,000 tons of freight per year.