Hail
International Airport

Yes. The runway is 12,204 feet, or 3,720 metres, which is generous, with ICAO Category 7 fire cover and customs and immigration on the field since it gained international status in 2017. There is no airport slot or PPR; the national GACA landing permit governs the trip. The thing to plan around is the elevation.

Hail sits at 3,331 feet, the highest of the six Saudi airports we cover and well above Riyadh, Madinah and Qassim in the 2,000 foot band. In a hot climate that puts density altitude on a summer departure noticeably above the field. The 12,204 foot runway absorbs a great deal of it, but a heavy departure in July wants calculating rather than assuming.

International, since 2017. It was originally a regional airport and our own data sheet still listed it as Hail Regional. It was upgraded to international status in 2017 and now operates a limited number of international flights, all by non-domestic carriers. For private traffic the status means customs and immigration are available on the field.

12,204 feet by 148 feet, designated 18/36, in asphalt. Published sources have differed on this, with one giving 10,827 feet, but the current figure is 3,720 metres, which is 12,204 feet, and that is what we plan against. It is longer than Qassim's runway despite Hail being the quieter field.

Yes. Landing and overflight permits for non-scheduled flights are issued by the General Authority of Civil Aviation and obtained through approved local agents within the Kingdom. Since 1 May 2025 foreign operators may also fly charter between Saudi cities without a local partner, so a Riyadh to Hail leg on a foreign-registered aircraft is now straightforward.

No, handling is not mandatory in the regulatory sense, though every private movement uses an agent. Jet A-1 is available. Fire cover is ICAO Category 7, the lowest of the six Saudi fields in this library, so a very large aircraft is worth checking against the type.

Hail Province in the northern Nejd, a region of desert, mountains and ancient rock art, including the UNESCO listed sites at Jubbah and Shuwaymis. It is roughly three hours from Qassim and considerably further from Riyadh, so for a Hail destination there is no practical alternative airport.

On 14 September 2000 a Qatar Airways Airbus A300 flying from Doha to Amman was hijacked by an Iraqi asylum seeker and diverted to Hail, where the hijacker surrendered immediately. It is the one incident of note in the airport's history and it ended without injury.

Hail for Hail Province. Qassim for Buraydah and the Qassim region. They are about three hours apart by road and serve different parts of the north. Hail has the longer runway at 12,204 feet but sits 1,200 feet higher; Qassim has Category 8 fire cover against Hail's Category 7.

It is owned by the General Authority of Civil Aviation. Wikipedia records Nesma Airlines as operator, which is unusual for a Saudi airport and worth confirming for any operational contact rather than relying on.

No, it is the quietest of the six Saudi fields we cover, with a modest domestic schedule and a small international network. Parking and handling are not the constraints they become at Jeddah during Hajj or at Dammam during the working week.

Arabia Standard Time, UTC+3, all year. Saudi Arabia does not observe daylight saving.