King Abdulaziz International Airport — Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

King Abdulaziz International Airport, coded JED, serves as Saudi Arabia's principal gateway to the holy cities and the primary hub for pilgrims arriving on Hajj and Umrah journeys. Its original Hajj Terminal, completed in 1981 with a distinctive tent-like fabric roof designed by the American firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, remains an architectural landmark built to process enormous seasonal surges of arriving pilgrims. A new integrated terminal opened in 2018, consolidating operations and expanding capacity for both religious travel and everyday passenger demand. Located north of Jeddah on the Red Sea coast, JED anchors Saudia's route network and increasingly competes with Riyadh for status as the kingdom's busiest airport. Beyond religious travel, Jeddah's role as a commercial port city and gateway to Red Sea tourism development adds steady non-pilgrim traffic throughout the year.