Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz International Airport

Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz International Airport (IATA: ELQ, ICAO: OEGS), formerly Qassim International Airport and widely known in the air-travel industry as "Gassim" (from Gassim Province in which it lies), is an airport in the Mulayda district (Arabic: المليداء‎) west of Buraydah, Saudi Arabia.[2] It primarily serves the region in addition to the neighbor provinces of Hail and Riyadh. Currently, 11 airlines serve the airport with 15 destinations in 5 countries (Saudi Arabia included).

Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz International Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerGeneral Authority of Civil Aviation
OperatorGeneral Authority of Civil Aviation
ServesAl-Qassim Province
LocationMulayda, Buraydah, Saudi Arabia
Elevation AMSL2,126[1] ft / 648[1] m
Coordinates26°18′10″N 043°46′26″E
Map
ELQ
Location of airport in Saudi Arabia
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
15/33 9,843 3,000 Asphalt

The airport was established in 1964[3] and is owned and operated by the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA). It was renamed to Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz International Airport after a royal decree by King Abdullah on 5 July 2012 in memory of former Crown Prince Nayef.[4][3]

Prince Sultan, then crown prince and minister of defense and aviation, launched an expansion project of the royal terminal at the airport in 2003. GACA has spent more than SR300 million on expansion projects since 1964 and the airport continues to undergo further expansion as it consolidates its position as a main aviation hub in Saudi Arabia's central region.[3][5]

Airlines and destinations
AirlinesDestinations
Air ArabiaSharjah
Air Arabia Egypt Cairo[6]
AlMasria Universal AirlinesCairo
Azerbaijan AirlinesSeasonal charter: Baku[7]
EgyptAirCairo
flyadealJeddah
FlyBosniaSeasonal: Sarajevo[8]
flydubaiDubai–International
flynasAbha, Dammam, Jeddah
Seasonal: Sarajevo[9]
Gulf AirBahrain
Kuwait AirwaysKuwait[10]
Nesma AirlinesCairo, Ha'il
Nile AirCairo
SaudiaDammam, Jeddah, Medina, Riyadh
Turkish AirlinesIstanbul[11]

Incidents and accidents

On 28 May 2005, three military helicopters parked in the airport caught fire, also damaging the buildings next to the hangar. There were no human casualties.[12]

References
  1. "Gassim". World Aero Data. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  2. "Google Maps". Google Maps.
  3. "Saudi Arabia: Qassim Regional Airport Named After Prince Naif". Eurasia Review. Arab News. 6 July 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  4. "خادم الحرمين الشريفين يسمي مطار القصيم بمطار الأمير نايف مباشر المدي". Al-madina.com. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  5. "اعتماد توسعة مطار الأمير نايف بمليار و250 مليون ريال". Ajel. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  6. "Flights to cairo". airarabia.com.
  7. Liu, Jim (21 May 2019). "Azerbaijan Airlines adds Qassim charters in S19". Routesonline. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  8. https://flybosnia.ba/
  9. http://flyingbosnian.blogspot.com/2020/02/flynas-is-expanding-sarajevo-network.html
  10. https://www.kuwaitairways.com/en/routemap
  11. "Istanbul New Airport Transition Delayed Until April 5, 2019 (At The Earliest)".
  12. "Three Choppers Catch Fire at Qassim Airport". Arab News. Jeddah. 30 May 2005. Retrieved 15 August 2012.

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