Troubled History
Bad transport roads led many locals to fly via the airport in neighboring Bahrain. The roads have since been improved. Passenger numbers have increased somewhat, but it remains a largely idle (excess capacity) airport due to a significant portion of the public traveling via the nearby Bahrain International Airport for international flights. In addition, some people who live in Khobar may prefer the Bahrain International Airport even for domestic destinations because of King Fahd's inconvenient location. Many airlines prefer to operate only from Bahrain and bring passengers from Dammam to Bahrain by road which is likely to increase after the planned expansion for King Fahd Causeway is completed (unless serious improvement is implemented in managing the airport in order to attract more airlines and passengers). King Fahd International Airport is fully operational throughout the year. Another reason passengers prefer to travel from Bahrain is customer mistreatment by King Fahd's airport officials (especially passport control officers) and long waiting times which vary from 2 to 5 hours, especially for arrivals from South Asian and North African countries. Non-Saudi passengers often complain about the mistreatment but no action has been taken by the airport nor the immigration authorities to improve.
During Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, the U.S. 101st airborne had their base setup at the airport.
Read more about this topic: King Fahd International Airport
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