RUH · Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
King Khalid International Airport.
--:--:-- · AST (UTC+03:00) · 24.9576° N, 46.6988° E
King Khalid International Airport
International airport serving Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Verification trail
Source-backed facts for RUH
This section separates stable airport identifiers from live operating data. Codes, coordinates, timezone, elevation, source identifiers, and accepted reference links are retained here; live arrivals, departures, gates, delays, NOTAMs, and airline schedule changes must still be checked with the airport or carrier.
Airport catalog
OurAirports ID 5112; ident OERK; scheduled service listed.
Cached airports.csv snapshot: 2026-04-25; runways.csv snapshot: 2026-05-21.
Official airport source
kkia.sa
Used as the preferred live-reference handoff for terminals, gates, alerts, and airport notices.
Open sourceReference summary
King Khalid International Airport
Airport-shaped reference summary from en.wikipedia.org; summary snapshot 2026-05-20.
Open sourceManual / derived signals
21 source-backed signals
Merged from OurAirports cached airports.csv, OurAirports cached runways.csv, Wikidata airport entity snapshot, airport-shaped Wikipedia summary snapshot; facts generated 2026-05-21.
IATA / ICAO
RUH / OERK
OurAirports ident
OERK
GPS / local code
OERK
ISO region
SA-01
Scheduled service
Listed in source snapshot
Role
international scheduled-service gateway
Official host
kkia.sa
Reference host
en.wikipedia.org
Wikidata entity
Q47157
Snapshot generated
2026-05-21
Airport lookup keys
Stable codes
Regional keys
Alternate names
Nearby airport codes
Route reference codes
Accepted citation URLs
Last updated May 21, 2026. Stable airport identifiers and timezone facts are content-reviewed; clocks render live in the browser, while weather and time-difference notes are page-snapshot aids rather than permanent airport records.
Live values rendered at Nov 5, 8:20 PM UTC.
What you need to know now
Local airport time
--:--:--AST · UTC+03:00
Time zone
AST
Asia/Riyadh · UTC+03:00
Airfield conditions
Live airport weather is temporarily unavailable.
Surface access
30 km
Approximate distance to central Riyadh.
Airport Snapshot
Country capital
Riyadh
Languages
Arabic
Currency
SAR (ر.س)
Country area
2,149,690 km²
Passenger volume
Source note unavailable
Terminals
5 terminals
Runways
2 runways
Longest runway
13,796 ft / 4,205 m
Runway surface
asphalt (2)
Opened / operator
1983 · The state-owned Riyadh Airports Company
Owner / entity
Q47157
Hub airlines
Mixed or not clearly stated
Airport role
international scheduled-service gateway
Scheduled service
Listed
Fact coverage
21 source-backed signals
King Khalid International Airport is a international scheduled-service gateway for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Riyadh's built-up core sits roughly 30 km from the terminal area. Operations run on Asia/Riyadh (UTC+03:00, AST). Live weather is temporarily unavailable. With 3 other indexable airports in its surrounding network, it works well as a reference point for regional flight planning and timezone checks.
King Khalid International Airport (RUH / OERK) is at 24.9576° N, 46.6988° E, elevation 2,049 ft (625 m), serving Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The accepted reference summary is used as supporting context for the airport identity and operating notes; the timed facts here still come from the airport catalog, timezone database, country snapshot, and linked source trail.
Riyadh is in Saudi Arabia (capital Riyadh); regulated by General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA); on Asia/Riyadh (AST, UTC+03:00); working languages: Arabic; currency: SAR (ر.س).
Distance from central Riyadh: 30 km.
Airport context brief
A compact traveler-facing brief from the airport catalog, country snapshot, route geometry, city anchors, peer airports, and source trail for RUH.
Name and identity cues
Primary airport name
King Khalid International Airport (RUH / OERK)
King Khalid International Airport · International airport serving Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Known label 1
Riyad
Alternate airport-name cue retained for RUH, not a separate indexable duplicate page.
Source identifiers
OERK · OERK · SA-01
kkia.sa · en.wikipedia.org · scheduled service yes
Source-specific airport notes
Regional role cue
It is one of the busiest airports in the Middle East.
Accepted from the airport reference trail as a role-specific cue for RUH; not treated as a live service guarantee.
Location cue
King Khalid International Airport is an international airport located about 35 kilometres (22 mi) north of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Used to make the airport page location-specific beyond the code, coordinate, and timezone record.
Closest mapped city anchors
1. Ad Dir‘īyah
ad-dir-iyah · 28 km from RUH
Saudi Arabia · Asia/Riyadh · +0h · population 73,668 · city coordinates 24.7519, 46.5387
2. Riyadh
riyadh · 30 km from RUH
Saudi Arabia · Asia/Riyadh · +0h · population 4,205,961 · city coordinates 24.6877, 46.7219
3. ‘Irqah
irqah · 32 km from RUH
Saudi Arabia · Asia/Riyadh · +0h · population 42,179 · city coordinates 24.6803, 46.6111
4. Rumāḩ
rumah · 82 km from RUH
Saudi Arabia · Asia/Riyadh · +0h · population 25,031 · city coordinates 25.5639, 47.1641
5. Al Kharj
al-kharj · 110 km from RUH
Saudi Arabia · Asia/Riyadh · +0h · population 425,300 · city coordinates 24.1554, 47.3346
6. Ad Dilam
ad-dilam · 117 km from RUH
Saudi Arabia · Asia/Riyadh · +0h · population 35,371 · city coordinates 23.9910, 47.1618
Airport alternatives in the retained graph
1. DIA OTBD
Doha International Airport · Doha
491 km from RUH · Asia/Qatar · +0h · elevation 35 ft (11 m) · airport coordinates 25.2594, 51.5655
2. DOH OTHH
Hamad International Airport · Doha
495 km from RUH · Asia/Qatar · +0h · elevation 13 ft (4 m) · airport coordinates 25.2731, 51.6081
3. BSR ORMM
Basra International Airport · Basra
629 km from RUH · Asia/Baghdad · +0h · elevation 11 ft (3 m) · airport coordinates 30.5491, 47.6621
Route-time reference set
1. RUH-DIA
Doha · 491 km · 1h 27m
Asia/Qatar · +0h from RUH; reference route only, not a live schedule.
2. RUH-DOH
Doha · 495 km · 1h 28m
Asia/Qatar · +0h from RUH; reference route only, not a live schedule.
3. RUH-BSR
Basra · 629 km · 1h 38m
Asia/Baghdad · +0h from RUH; reference route only, not a live schedule.
Runway source evidence
Published runway count
2 runways
Longest runway 13,796 ft / 4,205 m. 2 lighted runways in the runway snapshot.
Runway surface mix
asphalt (2)
Surface labels are normalized from the OurAirports runway rows for RUH.
Runway identifiers
15L/33R · 15R/33L
Identifier pairs are retained as airport-specific runway cues, not live operational availability claims.
Same-country airport context
1. MED OEMA
Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz Airport · Medina · 708 km from RUH
large airport · Asia/Riyadh · saudi-arabia · 2,151 ft (656 m) · 24.5534, 39.7051
2. JED OEJN
King Abdulaziz International Airport · Jeddah · 852 km from RUH
large airport · Asia/Riyadh · saudi-arabia · 48 ft (15 m) · 21.6802, 39.1574
Accepted operational notes
Source note 1
This airport consists of five passenger terminals with eight aero-bridges each, a mosque, and parking facilities for 11,600 vehicles.
Retained as a source-backed local role note for RUH.
Source note 2
It includes a "Royal Terminal" designated for use by government officials, state guests, and the Saudi royal family.
Retained as a source-backed local role note for RUH.
Source note 3
The airport has one of the world's tallest air traffic control towers, and two parallel runways, each 4,260 metres (13,980 ft) in length.
Retained as a source-backed local role note for RUH.
Source note 4
It is one of the busiest airports in the Middle East.
Retained as a source-backed local role note for RUH.
Country and authority
RUH sits in Saudi Arabia (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), whose capital is Riyadh. General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) is the national civil-aviation authority we name for regulator context. Country context: Asia, Western Asia.
Traveler context
Common country-language signals: Arabic. Currency context: SAR (ر.س). RUH is listed with scheduled service in the airport source snapshot.
Names and local labels
RUH is also associated in the airport facts snapshot with Riyad. These labels help catch alternate airport names without creating separate duplicate airport pages.
Reference description
International airport serving Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This description is used only as identity context; live flight status, terminal assignment, and airport alerts still belong to the official airport or airline source.
Source-specific cues
Regional role cue: It is one of the busiest airports in the Middle East. Location cue: King Khalid International Airport is an international airport located about 35 kilometres (22 mi) north of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Entity fingerprint
Wikidata airport entity: Q47157 · King Khalid International Airport. Administrative area: Riyadh. Named after: Riyadh · Khalid of Saudi Arabia. Entity official-site cross-check: kkia.sa
Field and clock profile
King Khalid International Airport is a moderate-elevation field at 2,049 ft (625 m), positioned at 24.9576° N, 46.6988° E in the Northern subtropics. The runway snapshot lists 2 runways and a longest runway of 13,796 ft / 4,205 m. The airport clock uses Asia/Riyadh (AST, UTC+03:00), so cross-date arrivals should be checked against this zone rather than the airline origin city.
City and airport alternatives
Ad Dir‘īyah is the closest retained city-time anchor at 28 km. DIA Doha is the closest retained airport alternative at 491 km.
Country airport peers
RUH is compared with MED Medina at 708 km, JED Jeddah at 852 km inside the retained Saudi Arabia airport set, which is useful when backup airports share the same country context but differ by city, route network, and clock behavior.
Route geometry
RUH-DIA Doha: 491 km, about 1h 27m, +0h. RUH-DOH Doha: 495 km, about 1h 28m, +0h. RUH-BSR Basra: 629 km, about 1h 38m, +0h. These are distance and timezone references, not live flight availability claims.
Source trail
OurAirports ident OERK backs the stable code, coordinate, elevation, and timezone record. kkia.sa is attached as the official airport website. en.wikipedia.org is used only as supporting reference context. Snapshot date: 2026-05-21.
Operational Profile
Traffic profile
Reference airport
Airline role
Mixed commercial service
Terminal footprint
5 terminals
Runway footprint
2 runways · longest 13,796 ft / 4,205 m
Runway identifiers
15L/33R, 15R/33L
OurAirports classifies RUH as a large airport with scheduled service; the airport name and codes identify it as an international gateway for Riyadh.
RUH (OERK) is a moderate-elevation field at 2,049 ft (625 m) in the subtropics, kept in the curated set for its route, timezone, and market-planning value.
RUH sits in a broader regional network with 3 nearby curated alternatives, so airline choice and connection strategy are part of the planning story here.
RUH's runway record lists 2 runways, with the longest runway at 13,796 ft / 4,205 m and source surfaces recorded as asphalt (2).
The state-owned Riyadh Airports Company is the clearest operator or management signal we currently have on file for RUH.
- This airport consists of five passenger terminals with eight aero-bridges each, a mosque, and parking facilities for 11,600 vehicles.
- It includes a "Royal Terminal" designated for use by government officials, state guests, and the Saudi royal family.
- The airport has one of the world's tallest air traffic control towers, and two parallel runways, each 4,260 metres (13,980 ft) in length.
- It is one of the busiest airports in the Middle East.
These operational notes prefer the structured airport facts snapshot, then fall back to the accepted airport reference at kkia.sa, then blend that with local timezone, route, and city-access data already on this page.
Decision matrix for RUH
These are the specific situations where this airport page earns its keep: time-zone conversion, city transfer planning, nearby airport backup logic, and source-confidence checks before acting.
When the clock matters
RUH uses Asia/Riyadh (AST, UTC+03:00). Use this before overnight arrivals, cross-date departures, and same-day connections.
When surface access matters
King Khalid International Airport is about 30 km from central Riyadh; build that transfer into arrival and check-in planning.
When alternates matter
DIA Doha is the closest retained alternate at 491 km, time difference +0h.
When source checks matter
kkia.sa is listed as the official airport website in the airport facts snapshot; live schedules, gates, routes, terminals, and NOTAM-sensitive operations still need official airport or airline verification.
How this airport compares nearby
These comparisons place RUH inside the retained airport graph by country, timezone, elevation, and coordinate neighbors. They are deterministic dataset facts, not generated flight claims.
Country-rank position
RUH ranks #3 in the curated Saudi Arabia airport set when large airports are listed before medium airports, then sorted by IATA code. The retained country set has 3 airports.
Same-zone airport cohort
RUH shares Asia/Riyadh with JED Jeddah SA · MED Medina SA. This helps separate same-clock airports by city, country, code, and geography.
Elevation-neighbor cohort
RUH is 2,049 ft (625 m). Closest elevation peers in the retained airport set include FMM 2,077 ft (633 m) (28 ft delta) · DAM 2,020 ft (616 m) (29 ft delta) · MAD 1,998 ft (609 m) (51 ft delta) · KLV 1,989 ft (606 m) (60 ft delta) · MED 2,151 ft (656 m) (102 ft delta).
Coordinate-neighbor check
RUH's nearest retained coordinate neighbors are DIA 491 km +0h · DOH 495 km +0h · BSR 629 km +0h.
Flight Path Arc
Great-circle route between airports with animated plane. Pick a route.
Arriving From / Departing To
| Destination | Route code | Distance | Estimated window | Time difference | Destination clock |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doha | DIA | 491 km | 1h 27m | +0h | --:--:-- |
| Doha | DOH | 495 km | 1h 28m | +0h | --:--:-- |
| Basra | BSR | 629 km | 1h 38m | +0h | --:--:-- |
RUH to DIA
Doha
Distance 491 km; estimated travel window 1h 27m; destination zone Asia/Qatar is +0h from RUH. Use the live destination clock on this page as a cross-timezone planning cue, not as a live flight schedule.
RUH to DOH
Doha
Distance 495 km; estimated travel window 1h 28m; destination zone Asia/Qatar is +0h from RUH. Use the live destination clock on this page as a cross-timezone planning cue, not as a live flight schedule.
RUH to BSR
Basra
Distance 629 km; estimated travel window 1h 38m; destination zone Asia/Baghdad is +0h from RUH. Use the live destination clock on this page as a cross-timezone planning cue, not as a live flight schedule.
Airport Details
Timezone
Ground Transport and Nearby Context
The airport sits in the normal outer-ring range for a major metro gateway, so rail, shuttle coach, and ride-hail all matter when you judge the fastest arrival.
Riyadh is the nearest mapped city anchor in the current dataset, which makes it the cleanest companion page when travelers want to switch from airport timing into local city timing.
King Khalid International Airport has 3 nearby indexed airport alternatives, which makes backup departures and diversion logic part of real planning instead of a theoretical edge case.
Nearby city time anchors
Airport pages are most useful when they bridge into real city clocks. These city anchors are ranked by distance from RUH, then shown with their own timezone, local time, and time difference from the airport clock.
Ad Dir‘īyah
ad-dir-iyah · 28 km · Asia/Riyadh
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Riyadh
riyadh · 30 km · Asia/Riyadh
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
‘Irqah
irqah · 32 km · Asia/Riyadh
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Rumāḩ
rumah · 82 km · Asia/Riyadh
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Al Kharj
al-kharj · 110 km · Asia/Riyadh
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Ad Dilam
ad-dilam · 117 km · Asia/Riyadh
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Shaqra
shaqra · 149 km · Asia/Riyadh
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Ad Dawādimī
ad-dawadimi · 238 km · Asia/Riyadh
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Az Zulfī
az-zulfi · 241 km · Asia/Riyadh
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Al Mithnab
al-mithnab · 268 km · Asia/Riyadh
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Al Hufūf
al-hufuf · 294 km · Asia/Riyadh
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Al Mubarraz
al-mubarraz · 295 km · Asia/Riyadh
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Diff
- +0h
Airlines and Network Role
King Khalid International Airport does not have a long carrier list in the current source trail, so this page emphasizes the durable pieces travelers can safely use here: local time, field identifiers, nearby airports, and timezone differences.
The route timing references show the first cross-timezone planning burden after this airport: Doha (DIA), Doha (DOH), Basra (BSR). Treat them as distance and clock cues, then verify flight availability with the carrier.
Planning checkpoints
- Traffic signal: not clearly stated in the source trail.
- Terminal footprint: 5 terminals.
- Runway footprint: 2 runways; longest runway 13,796 ft / 4,205 m; identifiers 15L/33R, 15R/33L.
- Runway surfaces: asphalt (2); 2 lighted runways in the source snapshot.
- Operator / management: The state-owned Riyadh Airports Company.
- Opened / inaugurated: 1983.
- Network role: mixed or not clearly stated in the source trail.
Nearby Airports
Nearby airports are ranked by coordinate distance from RUH. The time difference column is computed from IANA zones against the page snapshot, while the local clocks update in the browser.
Doha International AirportDIA
Doha · large airport
- Distance
- 491 km
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Time diff
- +0h
- Elevation
- 35 ft (11 m)
Compare against DIA when route choice, backup departures, or arrival-side local time matters.
Hamad International AirportDOH
Doha · large airport
- Distance
- 495 km
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Time diff
- +0h
- Elevation
- 13 ft (4 m)
Compare against DOH when route choice, backup departures, or arrival-side local time matters.
Basra International AirportBSR
Basra · large airport
- Distance
- 629 km
- Local time
- --:--:--
- Time diff
- +0h
- Elevation
- 11 ft (3 m)
Compare against BSR when route choice, backup departures, or arrival-side local time matters.
Companion Planning Tools
Questions
FAQ
What timezone is King Khalid International Airport (RUH) in?▾
King Khalid International Airport is in the Asia/Riyadh timezone (UTC+03:00, AST).
What are the codes for King Khalid International Airport?▾
King Khalid International Airport uses IATA code RUH and ICAO code OERK.
Where is King Khalid International Airport located?▾
King Khalid International Airport is located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at coordinates 24.9576° N, 46.6988° E, with an elevation of 2,049 ft (625 m) (moderate-elevation field in the subtropics).
How far is King Khalid International Airport from central Riyadh?▾
King Khalid International Airport sits roughly 30 km from the nearest mapped city center for Riyadh.
Which route reference is most useful from RUH?▾
Doha (DIA) is one of the closest route references on this page, with an estimated travel window of 1h 27m, destination timezone Asia/Qatar, and a +0h difference from RUH.
Which authority regulates RUH?▾
King Khalid International Airport sits inside Saudi Arabia, where civil aviation oversight is led by the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA).
What other airports in Saudi Arabia are close peers to RUH?▾
RUH's curated peers in Saudi Arabia on this site include MED Medina, JED Jeddah.
How many runways does King Khalid International Airport have?▾
King Khalid International Airport's source-backed operational summary lists 2 runways, with the longest runway recorded at 13,796 ft / 4,205 m; identifiers include 15L/33R, 15R/33L.