Tabuk Regional Airport

Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Airport also known as Tabuk Regional Airport (Arabic: مطار الأمير سلطان بن عبد العزيز) (IATA: TUU, ICAO: OETB) is an international and public airport in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. It was a former military airport until its renovation to become a public airport in 2011. Despite being an international airport, it only serves a few foreign destinations. There are plans to increase the number of international destinations to other neighboring countries. The airport has a single terminal building which uses air bridges for planes to disembark and load passengers. The airport was named after the late minister of Defence and crown prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz.

Tabuk Regional Airport (Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Airport)

مطار الأمير سلطان بن عبد العزيز
Summary
Airport typePublic and Military
OperatorSaudi Ground Services (SGS)
ServesTabuk, Saudi Arabia
LocationKing Abdulaziz Road
Elevation AMSL2,551 ft / 778 m
Coordinates28°22′23″N 036°37′17″E
WebsitePrince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Airport
Map
TUU is located in Saudi Arabia
TUU
TUU
Location of airport in Saudi Arabia
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
06/24 10,991 3,350 Asphalt
13/31 10,007 3,050 Asphalt

Military use

King Faisal Air Base (KFAB) shares the airport site and boundaries but uses a separate runway for operations. No. 2 Squadron RSAF flew the English Electric Lightning at Tabuk, up until at least 1985.[1]

KFAB is home to the Royal Saudi Air Force Hawk training aircraft squadrons, as well as 88th Squadron - 'The Saudi Hawks' aerobatic display team. KFAB also operates the F-15 Eagle aircraft at Tabuk.[2]

Terminal

The airport has one terminal serving both international and domestic destinations. The airport has two levels, a ground level and an upper level. A royal terminal also exists next to the main airport building where heads of state and other high-ranking VIP visitors are received.

On the ground level, before security check and outside of the arrivals area, there are two coffee shops and a small gift shop. The shops open during flight operation hours. There are seven check-in/ticketing desks. After passengers go through check-in/ticketing, they proceed through security. Following security, they head to the upper level.

The upper level connects the departing and arriving passengers to the airplane via three air bridges. If an unoccupied air bridge is not available, passengers head to the ground level and onto a bus to take them to the waiting aircraft. The upper level also has a gift shop and a coffee shop, serving coffee and snacks. The upper level is divided into two sections, a domestic flights section and an international flights section, which are divided by the immigration officers desk.

Upon disembarkation, the passengers proceed downstairs, through immigration if they are on an international flight, to the baggage carousel, where they collect their baggage. The exit of the airport is also on the ground floor.

The Mosque

Next to the airport a mosque was built to accommodate for passengers and airport staff. The mosque is located to the right of the airport.

Airlines and destinations
AirlinesDestinations
Air Arabia Cairo,[3] Sharjah
flyadealJeddah, Riyadh[4]
flydubai Dubai–International[5]
Flynas Abha (begins 2 December 2023), Dammam, Medina[6] (begins 1 December 2023), Jeddah, Riyadh
Nesma Airlines Cairo
Nile Air Cairo, Sohag
Qatar Airways Doha (begins 14 December 2023)[7]
Saudia Jeddah, Riyadh

Statistics
Annual passenger traffic at TUU airport. See Wikidata query.

Accidents and incidents
  • On 11 July 1972, Douglas C-47B HZ-AAK of Saudia was damaged beyond economic repair in an accident at Tabuk Airport.[8]

See also

References
  1. Orbis, "Warplane" partwork, Issue 20 (1985), p388.
  2. "Threats to Israel" www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org
  3. "Air Arabia Resumes Tabuk Service From Nov 2022". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  4. "flyadeal brings affordable air travel to Tabuk". www.flyadeal.com. Retrieved 2018-04-20.
  5. "flydubai adds Tabuk to KSA network".
  6. "flynas launches Its New Operations Base and the 4th in Saudi at Madinah Airport and reveals its new network of destinations Starting December 1". Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  7. "Qatar Airways Expands Its Presence in Saudi Arabia With the Opening of Two New Gateways: Al Ula, Tabuk and The Reopening of Yanbu". www.qatarairways.com. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  8. "HZ-AAK Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.