Al-Ahsa International Airport
Al-Ahsa International Airport مطار الأحساء الدولي | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Operator | Government | ||||||||||
| Serves | Al-Ahsa Governorate | ||||||||||
| Location | Hofuf | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 588 ft / 179 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 25°17′07″N 049°29′06″E / 25.28528°N 49.48500°E | ||||||||||
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  OEAH Location of airport in Saudi Arabia | |||||||||||
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| Runways | |||||||||||
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Al-Ahsa International Airport (Template:Lang-ar, IATA: HOF[3], ICAO: OEAH) is an airport serving Hofuf (also known as Al-Ahsa or Al-Hasa), a city in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia.
Facilities
The airport resides at an elevation of 588 feet (179 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 16/34 with an asphalt surface measuring 3,060 by 45 metres (10,039 ft × 148 ft).[1]
Airlines and destinations
Al-Ahsa airport has completed the process to acquire the status of international airport. International flights are now taking off from Al-Ahsa (including: Flydubai, Air Arabia, Qatar Airways). Two important features for an international airport are now almost complete, sources told Arab News. The Directorate General of Passports has approved hiring additional staff. A process is under way to link the computer systems of the National Information Center (NIC) with the immigration counters of Al-Ahsa airport. Sources said that customs authorities have almost completed their required formalities.
Khalid Al-Khaibary, general manager of the Media section of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), told to Arab News “most formalities have been completed. We are awaiting a nod from the tripartite committee to start international flights.” He declined to specify a time frame.
Al-Ahsa is situated at a strategically important location. Its proximity to Qatar and Bahrain on one side and Dubai on the other side, makes Al-Ahsa an ideal place to serve as an international airport. Many Saudi citizens shuttle regularly between neighboring Qatar and Bahrain and they demand semi international connectivity. Al-Ahsa is also close to the world’s largest conventional oilfield, Ghawar. Employees of Aramco depend on Al-Ahsa airport for their transportation needs.
Nearly 50 percent of passengers that use Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport and 17 percent of Bahrain Airport users hail from Al-Ahsa area, in addition to significant clientele of Qatar Airways. Currently, Saudi Arabian Airlines operates only two flights a week to Riyadh and Jeddah in low season and four flights during summer and holiday season. GACA formally approved the airport’s international status in 2011.[4] The airport is expected to grow by 300,000 passengers per annum between 2015 and 2020, a GACA study predicted.[4] Around 300,000 expatriate workers live in the area.[4]
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Air Arabia | Sharjah |
| flydubai | Dubai-International [5] |
| Nile Air | Cairo |
| Qatar Airways | Doha |
| Saudia | Jeddah, Riyadh |
References
- ^ a b Airport information for OEAH from DAFIF (effective October 2006)
- ^ Airport information for HOF at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
- ^ "IATA Airport Code Search (HOF – City: Hofuf, Airport: Al-Ahsa)". International Air Transport Association. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
- ^ a b c International flights soon from Al-Ahsa airport Arab News 16 September 2013
- ^ "flydubai adds Hofuf to KSa network" (Press release). flydubai. 19 January 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
External links
Media related to Al-Ahsa Airport at Wikimedia Commons
- Aeronautical chart and airport information for OEAH at SkyVector
- Current weather for OEAH at NOAA/NWS
- Accident history for HOF at Aviation Safety Network
- http://www.alriyadh.com/net/article/901315