The Worlds Largest Airport in Terms of Area

Aerial View of KFIA

Yes, you read that right, King Fahad International Airport in Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, holds a world record of being the largest airport in the world in terms of land area. A former US base during the gulf war, has an area of whopping 776 square kilometres, almost the size of Kingdom of Bahrain.
Since 2017, The airport is being managed by DACO (Dammam Airports Company) and connects to about 43 destination and 10 million passengers a year, with Dubai being its busiest route of 70 weekly flights.

History of Airport 

The airport is named after Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques was King of Saudi Arabia (13 June 1982 to 1 August 2005). The airport was initially designed by Yamasaki & Associates and Boeing in 1977,  and construction was completed by the end of 1990, Thereby allowing the US led coalition forces to use the terminal during the Gulf War.

Passenger terminal of KFIA

It was not until 1999, That GACA( General Authority of Civil Aviation) opened the airport for commercial use, Thus transferring the airline operations from the Dhahran International Airport, A Military usage airport currently.

Location and Facilities

Departure entrance of Passenger terminal 

Dammam, The sixth most populous city in Saudi Arabia and also known for major administrative centre for Saudi oil industry. The city along with the entire eastern province is served by King Fahad International Airport (KFIA)

The airport has 2 parallel runways(16L/34R and 16R/34L) both being 4km long. A 3rd parallel runway is being constructed as we speak.

KFIA being the first Saudi Airport to adopt Duty-Free stores, has 3 terminal buildings in all. 

The main passenger terminal building was built initially, and has a total area of 327 square kilometres. The Saudi Aramco terminal is used by Aramco employees, connecting to destinations such as Yambu, Tanajib, Shaybah and Haradh. 

The Royal terminal is reserved by The Royal Family of Saudi Arabia, and is almost entirely furnished and embellished luxuriously. Despite having a separate terminal, The Royal family prefers using a similar terminal at Dhahran Airport (King Abdulaziz Air Base).

The airport also encloses an airport mosque, and has its own plant nursery. 

Domestic entrance of the passenger terminal and International departure terminal on the 1st Floor

Despite being the worlds largest airport in terms of area, It also operates the Worlds Shortest International Flight, Dammam to Bahrain International in Manama. It takes just 45mins from gate to gate and is about 76km(47miles).

Reference

Fight-delayed.co.uk 2019, Where are the largest airports in the world, Viewed on 9th Sept 2020

("King Fahd International Airport", 4th Sept 2020")