Much has been written about the sad state of Jeddah’s airport. The least that can be said about it is that it is a source of misery and inconvenience to all travelers. Some say the airport’s life ended 10 years ago; the fact is, however, that the airport expired the moment it opened at the beginning of the 1980s.
Any one who believes that the patching, dressing and hasty decoration that is carried out from time to time will breathe life into the airport is dead wrong. Those measures will not enable it to stand on one foot, even with the aid of crutches.
The airport has deteriorated for several reasons. The first problem that passengers have to deal with is simply getting in and out of the facility. This is compounded by the lack of sufficient parking space as well as the poor positioning of that which does exist. The baggage collection points are poorly designed; the toilets are inconveniently located and the public address system is so difficult to understand that passengers are often unsure of flight departure and arrival times.
To add insult to an already abundant injury, the passenger lounges themselves are far too small; the rigidity of their design does not allow expansion so that once built, they cannot respond to future needs and requirements.
A country of Saudi Arabia’s size and resources should have a much better and more efficient airport as the gateway to one of its most important cities. Sad to report but many railway and bus stations in the West are better designed and more pleasant to use.
An airport is the mirror through which a country is reflected. Jeddah is the gateway for millions of visitors and pilgrims who come to the Kingdom from all over the world; its airport, however, is an embarrassment compared to Dubai and Beirut. An airport is more than a transit point. The modern view is that airports should function as integrated cosmopolitan centers, complete with services — shops, restaurants, cafes, banks, bookstores, dressing rooms, hotels, fast train and bus links, etc.
Airport design is a fluid process but instead of moving forward, we chose what was 20 years out-of-date when it was built. And each year, the airport moves further and further into the past and more and more unable to cope with the desires and needs of the modern traveler.
