Saudi Airports Hit Record 140.9M Passengers in 2025

Saudi Arabia's airports recorded their busiest year yet in 2025, handling a total of 140.9 million passengers — a 9.6% rise compared with 2024, with the strongest activity concentrated at the Kingdom's main gateways in Jeddah and Riyadh.

International traffic accounted for roughly 76 million passengers, while domestic travel reached about 65 million. King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah stayed the busiest in the country, moving around 53.4 million passengers — close to 38% of all national traffic — at an average of about 146,000 passengers a day, and operating at nearly 107% of its design capacity.

King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh handled about 41 million passengers, roughly 29% of the national total, averaging around 112,000 passengers daily. King Fahd International Airport in Dammam served about 13.7 million passengers, growing around 7% year on year. In the first half of 2025 alone, the Kingdom's airports processed more than 66 million passengers, up about 7% on the same period a year earlier.

What travelers should know

From 1 July 2026, departing international passengers at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah will pay a terminal and passenger facilities charge (the ABC charge) set at SAR 175 The fee is collected by the airline as part of the ticket price and is due when the travel ticket is issued, so travelers do not need to complete any separate step through Absher, Muqeem, Qiwa, Najiz, Nafath or Tawakkalna to settle it.

The change applies specifically to Jeddah as an update to existing airport economic regulation, and no separate charge at the same level has been announced for Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport. The record figures underline steady growth in air travel across the Kingdom, giving residents and expats more capacity — but also busier terminals during peak periods.

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