The Hajj Terminal is a passenger terminal dedicated to the annual Haji pilgrimage at King Abdulaziz International Airport, the principal airport serving Jeddah and Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is located behind the two North and South Terminals, and four kilometres northwest from the newer Terminal 1 complex. Construction began in 1979, and was completed within a three-year timeframe in 1982.
History
Planning Since 1967, Jeddah International Airport was sought for replacement as it had grown into its remaining, urban-constricted space. By the late 1970s, it was forced to handle 600 daily aircraft movements and 50,000 passengers per day. As a result, a significantly larger airport began development north from Jeddah in 1974. The new airport—called King Abdulaziz International Airport's—was intended to have a north and south terminal. Both were air conditioned and comprised two terminals, having ten 150-passenger mobile lounges manufactured from West Germany linking commuters to the apron. Originally, the North Terminal, also known as Terminal 2, was to be used as the Hajj terminal. It was later considered too small amidst construction, and further north a 42 hectare site was selected for the improvisation of a large new terminal. This would end up becoming the terminal servicing every Haji season.
International architecture and engineering firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill won the contract for designing the terminal in 1975. Instead of constructing a standard, enclosed building for the airport which would not reflect the kingdom's culture, the architects based it off traditional Bedouin tents. Additionally, a single building enclosing both processing and waiting zones was considered too impractical to build. As Muslims making the pilgrimage would spend most of their time under the sun, the main terminal space would rather act as an open, shaded space. 20 metre square umbrellas were too expensive to build or regularly replace, and the firm settled on a permanent ‘high-tech’ structure. A translucent material developed by Owens-Corning produced a thin fibre sheet for the roof. At the time, a terminal permanently incorporating tents was unheard of. Previously, the use of fabrics in developments were used in the sports stadiums, shopping malls, and exhibition halls, for example the U.S. Pavilion at Expo '70 in Japan.
Construction
West German engineering firm, Hochtief was entrusted as the general contractor for the project. Owens Corning became the primary manufacturer for the tent’s fibreglass fabric, utilising its plants based in Rhode Island. Each of the components for the terminal had to be perfect during manufacturing, as contractors were unable to return to the plants for replacement. To further prevent any errors, Owens Corning carried a $2.5-million testing program at its technical centre in Granville, Ohio using a sized down prototype. Additionally, a training program specific to the terminal's construction was established for the workforce. The fabric material comprised Beta fiberglass yarn, reputed to be six times finer than silk yet having high durability. It was additionally coated in Teflon to reflect sunlight, and treated in chemicals to last longer once exposed to harsh Red Sea winds. 510,967 square meters of Teflon-covered fibreglass fabric was manufactured and used. Additionally, 440 steel support pylons were installed made from 30,000 tons of rolled steel manufactured from Tsu, Japan. They were then transported to Jeddah by barge. To hoist the fabrics to form its tent-like structure, 246 miles worth of steel cable was imported from Beaujolais, France. In May 1979, the construction of the first pylons began using a 280-ton crane in a three-staged installation method. During positioning, 80-ton steel support pylons were placed on concrete pads and secured with bolts. Afterwards, over 30 steel radial cables were attached to the top of the pylons and a 16-foot, two-foot section metal ring was suspended 33 meters from the ground between four pylons. In the last stage, the bottom half of the metal ring was lowered by a pulley to the ground over a 2,415 square meter fabric unit for attachment. When it was raised into the air, the fabric would drape from it. Workers would pull the bottom of the fabric outwards and secured the edges to the pylon's steel cables, forming a square frame at the bottom. Afterwards, the 32 radial steel cables are threaded directly into the fabric's sleeves to stretch it from the top centre to lower outer edges. This was how the fabric was shaped and strengthened similarly to the spine of an umbrella. When all 21 units were completed, they were hoisted to their full height and bolted both sections of the support ring together bounding the fabric. By October 1981, a total of 210 tent-like units were installed to form a single continuous structure.
Opening and operations Upon completion, it was originally planned that the terminal would be ready for the 1980 pilgrimage, with full operation slated for 1982. On 21 April 1981, King Khalid and Prince Fahd inaugurated King Abdulaziz International Airport after seven years of construction. It was prematurely opened to passenger services on 31 May, and the Hajj Terminal received the first Hajj season in September–October 1981. Construction was completed in 1982.
Outside of each season, the Hajj Terminal was ideally suited for hosting large public events. The first time the terminal was used for a non-aviation purpose was in June 1982 for Jeddah‘s reception of the coronation of King Fahd.
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