During
World War II, the
Persian Gulf and
Arabian Peninsula were important staging and shipping routes for the U.S. to provide both
lend-lease assistance to the
Soviet Union, as well as supply the
allied forces fighting the
Imperial Japanese forces in
Asia. Owing to Saudi Arabia's importance, primarily its location, in 1943 the US extended lend-lease status to Saudi Arabia, one of only three
Arab countries to receive this aid. In 1944, the U.S.
War Department (renamed in 1949 the
United States Department of Defense) proposed building an airbase in or near
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. In 1945, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia signed the Dhahran Air Field Agreement. This agreement permitted the U.S. to build a small air field near the Arabian American Oil Company (
ARAMCO) town. The use of the term "air field", as opposed to "air base" was a direct result of U.S. sensitivity of Saudi Arabia's concerns regarding
imperialism. Further, full ownership of the airfield was scheduled to revert to Saudi Arabia at the conclusion of the war, after an agreed-upon three-year period during which the U.S. would have the rights to operate the field. Despite the end of World War II in the European theater, in 1945, President
Harry S. Truman signed the Agreement, which owing to the lack of any military justification, and again a reflection of Saudi Arabia's concerns regarding imperialism and the symbolism of foreign bases on their soil, was promptly rejected by the King. The War Department, likewise, dropped their support of the project. However, the
U.S. State Department, recognizing the economic benefits of this location, and the diplomatic benefits afforded by the agreement, continued to pursue development of the Dhahran Air Field. After
Congress approved substantial economic development assistance, the U.S. State Department and the Saudi Government agreed, in August 1945, to develop the air field. The War Department was forced to foot the cost of the construction. In 1948, when the originally agreed-upon three-year post-war period of U.S. operations came to a close, the agreement was renegotiated. While the airfield had not been completed until 1946, too late to be of any benefit for World War II logistics (its original justification) it did provide benefits in the late 1940s, specifically in the context of the increasing tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. In 1949 Dhahran airfield was the only airfield in the area which could support the
United States Air Force (USAF)’s
B-29s. Thus, the airfield took on increasing importance in the U.S.’s eyes as one location in the U.S. strategy of the
containment of
communism. For Saudi Arabia, the base provided an element of security from the U.S. forces posted there, among Saudi Arabia's growing concerns regarding their neighbors, particularly
Yemen, and the
Hashemites of
Iraq and
Transjordan. The 1948 agreement reverted ownership of the air base to Saudi Arabia, and on-going year-to-year leases, for which the U.S. would pay rent. On 18 June 1951, the two governments signed an agreement renewing and extending USAF usage rights at the airfield.
Minoru Yamasaki designed the Dhahran International Airport terminal in 1959, and when the engineering institution presented the design to King Saud, he admired it very much, as mentioned in the book of the history of the Corps of Engineers Bricks, Sand, and Marble (bricks, sand and marble). The project contract was awarded, at a cost of 22.5 million Saudi riyals, to the Oman Farnsworth Wright Foundation in May 1959, which entrusted the construction work to the Saudi Projects Company, which began construction work in August 1959 and ended in September 1961, and parts of precast concrete were used in the construction process. "Our passenger traffic is growing at a rate of 35 percent a year," said Airport director Sami Maqbul. In 1979 alone, 1 and three-quarter million international passengers and one and a half million domestic passengers were expected to use the airport. Air cargo was to reach 39 million kilograms. The number of flights was going to approximate 75,000. To accommodate the growth in traffic, work began two years prior not only to expand terminal facilities, but also to upgrade flight-control equipment and landing facilities. The passengers included Americans who worked for Aramco and Saudis studying at universities in the United States. The service ceased in February 1986; Pan Am had sold its 747SPs and did not possess another aircraft that could operate the flights nonstop. Dhahran served a significant role in the 1994 evacuation of U.S. citizens and personnel from
Yemen when that country slid into civil war. During Operation Desert Focus in 1996, after the bombing of the
Khobar Towers, the airport was used to relocate over 6,000 U.S. citizens and personnel within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Dhahran airfield continued to serve as the Eastern Province's commercial air hub until the completion, in 1999, of the
King Fahd International Airport near Dammam, when all scheduled flights were shifted out of Dhahran International Airport. The terminal built in 1961 was kept when the airport became an airbase, and can still be seen on
Google Earth as of 2025.
Military King Abdul-Aziz Air Base has been a major RSAF airbase since the USAF left in 1962, providing air defence, tactical and strategic support for the Eastern Province and nearby regions, as well as providing aviation related technical training to RSAF personnel. Between 1963 and 1999 the base was called
Dhahran Air Base. Between 17 September 1963 and 20 November 1963 the
United States Air Force's
524th Tactical Fighter Squadron was deployed here with
North American F-100 Super Sabres.
The Gulf War A detachment of
Royal Air Force Panavia Tornado GR.1's from
No. 31 Squadron RAF were based here during January 1991.
1990s During October 1994 the USAF
75th Fighter Squadron (
Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft) was moved to Dhahran Air Base, prior to forward deployment to
Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base,
Kuwait. In 1999, Dhahran Air Base was renamed King Abdulaziz Air Base.
2026 Pakistan has deployed a significant military contingent to Saudi Arabia as of April 2026. This deployment includes approximately 13,000 ground troops and a fleet of 10 to 18 fighter jets from the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). ==Terminals and structure==