Jeddah airport breaks Saudi passenger record with 53.4 million

Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) welcomed a record 53.4 million passengers in 2025, marking a 9% increase and the highest annual total ever recorded by an airport in Saudi Arabia. The milestone places KAIA among the world’s 40 busiest airports and alongside regional hubs such as Doha’s Hamad International Airport, which handled 52.7 million passengers in 2024.

 

Commenting on the achievement, Mazen Johar, CEO of Jeddah Airports Co, said the long-term goal was to "double passenger capacity" to more than 100 million annually.

 

KAIA’s record-breaking performance highlights Jeddah airport’s growing role as Saudi’s primary Red Sea gateway and a key transit hub for millions of pilgrims travelling to Makkah and Madinah for Umrah and Hajj. According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the airport also handled 310,000 flights in 2025.

 

Recent terminal enhancements, operational upgrades and expanded airline networks have further strengthened KAIA’s position. National carrier Saudia has launched new routes from Jeddah to Athens, Vienna and Guangzhou, while low-cost carrier Flyadeal has introduced services to Baku, Sharm El Sheikh and Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen. This month, Qatar Airways will increase its Jeddah services from six to seven daily flights as part of its network expansion across the kingdom.

 

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Saudi’s wider aviation industry also reached record highs in 2025. According to the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), airports across the kingdom handled 103.1 million passengers and connected to 170 destinations worldwide in the first nine months of the year, a 9% increase on the same period in 2024. Flight movements also climbed 5% to 713,000 between January and September.

 

In the kingdom’s capital, Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport (KKIA) has yet to publish its full-year 2025 figures, but in July alone it welcomed 3.9 million passengers across 26,000 flights, marking its busiest month on record and positioning the airport to accelerate passenger growth further when Riyadh Air launches flights in 2026.

 

Construction is progressing on Riyadh’s US$30 billion King Salman International Airport (KSIA), which will ultimately handle more than 100 million passengers annually by 2030. Located on the current King Khalid International Airport site, KSIA will integrate existing terminals and add three new ones. Work has also begun on a third runway, set to increase capacity from 65 to 85 aircraft movements per hour.

 

Saudi Arabia’s broader tourism momentum continues to build. The kingdom welcomed 60.9 million visitors in the first half of 2025 and more than 32 million during the Saudi Summer 2025 campaign, keeping it on track to reach its Vision 2030 target of 150 million annual visitors.

 

For more information, visit kaia.sa