King Khalid Airport Terminals in 2026: Which Terminal Is Your Flight, and Where Your Chauffeur Meets You

For years the rule of thumb at Riyadh's airport was simple: domestic flights used Terminal 5. Plenty of travellers, drivers and websites still repeat it. It stopped being true in February 2026, when King Khalid International Airport carried out the first major reallocation of its terminals in more than four decades. Between 16 and 25 February every terminal changed its role, and according to the Saudi Press Agency the airport handled more than 1.04 million passengers across 7,650 flights during the move.

The result is a cleaner system once you know it, and an easy one to get wrong if you are working from memory. This guide sets out the new map, how to work out your terminal in ten seconds, how to move between terminals, and how a chauffeur pickup works when the terminal is the one detail that cannot be wrong.

The 2026 Terminal Map

The official allocation, as announced by the airport and reported by the Saudi Press Agency on 27 February 2026, is set out below.

Terminal	What it handles since February 2026	Who flies from it
Terminals 1 and 2	International flights of Saudi carriers	A Saudi airline flying abroad, for example flynas international, which flynas confirms operates from Terminal 1
Terminals 3 and 4	Domestic flights of Saudi carriers	Flights within the Kingdom, for example flynas domestic, which moved to Terminal 3 on 25 February 2026
Terminal 5	International flights of foreign airlines	Any non Saudi airline flying into or out of Riyadh

Airlines publish their own terminal notices and can adjust them, so the airline's confirmation or boarding pass is always the final word for a particular flight. The pattern above is the one to plan around.

How to Work Out Your Terminal

Two questions settle it almost every time.

Is the airline Saudi or foreign?

Look at the airline actually operating the flight, not the one that sold you the ticket. On a codeshare the operating carrier decides the terminal. If a foreign airline operates it, you are almost certainly in Terminal 5.

Is the flight domestic or international?

If a Saudi airline operates it, a flight to Jeddah, Dammam, Madinah or anywhere else in the Kingdom goes from Terminal 3 or 4, and a flight abroad goes from Terminal 1 or 2. The old habit of heading to Terminal 5 for a domestic flight now sends you to the wrong building.

Terminal 5 is the one people get wrong

Searches for Terminal 5 are by far the most common of any terminal at the airport, in English and in Arabic, and much of what turns up still describes it as the domestic terminal. Since February it is the gateway for foreign airlines. That matters most for visitors arriving on a foreign carrier, for residents meeting them, and for anyone sending a car.

Moving Between Terminals

Terminal 5 is a separate building from Terminals 1 to 4. The Riyadh Metro Yellow Line serves the airport with stations for all five terminals, and the airport publishes dedicated metro links between Terminals 1 and 2 and between Terminals 3 and 4. We cover the metro in full in our guide to getting around Riyadh by metro, taxi or chauffeur.

The connection that now needs the most care is between a foreign airline and a domestic flight, for example arriving from Europe on a foreign carrier and continuing to Jeddah on a Saudi one. That is a move from Terminal 5 to Terminal 3 or 4, so allow time for it, and if you are leaving the airport between flights, plan the car for the right building at each end.

Arriving on a Foreign Airline at Terminal 5

For most international visitors to Riyadh this is now the arrival experience. You land on a foreign carrier, clear passport control and collect your bags in Terminal 5, and walk out into the Terminal 5 arrivals hall. Anyone meeting you, whether a colleague, a relative or a chauffeur, needs to be in that hall and not in the arrivals area of Terminals 1 to 4.

Two practical points follow. First, if your hosts are used to collecting domestic travellers from Terminal 5, make sure they know it is now the international gateway for foreign airlines and that the domestic flights they remember have moved. Second, if your onward plans involve a Saudi airline the same day, you will be changing buildings, so give that connection the time it needs rather than the time it used to need.

Collecting family and guests

Residents meeting relatives from abroad are the people most likely to go to the wrong building on habit. The simplest check is the airline: a foreign airline means Terminal 5, a Saudi airline means Terminal 1 or 2 for an international arrival. If you would rather not deal with parking and the arrivals crowd at all, a chauffeur with a name board does the meeting for you.

Arriving on a Domestic Flight at Terminals 3 and 4

Business travellers flying in from Jeddah or Dammam for a day of meetings now land at Terminal 3 or 4. These are the busiest terminals for day returns, and the morning arrival peak is when a car waiting at the kerb saves the most time. If you are doing a same day return, the most efficient arrangement is usually one car for the whole day rather than two separate transfers, which we compare in our guide to Riyadh airport transfer timings and costs.

A Quick Checklist Before You Leave for the Airport

Five things settle almost every terminal question before it becomes a problem.

Check the operating airline

It is printed on your booking confirmation and boarding pass. Foreign airline, Terminal 5. Saudi airline, Terminals 1 to 4.

Check domestic or international

For a Saudi airline this decides between Terminals 1 and 2 for international flights and Terminals 3 and 4 for domestic ones.

Read the airline's latest notice

Airlines announce terminal moves on their own websites and by message to passengers. If anything has changed for your flight, that notice is the authority.

Tell your driver the flight number, not the terminal

A flight number cannot be misremembered in the way a terminal number can, and it lets the driver track the flight.

Allow for the separate building

If your day involves both Terminal 5 and one of Terminals 1 to 4, build in the extra time for the move between them.

Where Your Chauffeur Meets You

A car sent to the wrong terminal is not slightly late. It is a missed pickup, followed by a slow loop on airport roads while the passenger waits. Since the reallocation this is the most common way an airport pickup goes wrong in Riyadh, and it is entirely avoidable.

We work from the flight number

When you book an airport transfer with us, we ask for the airline and flight number, not the terminal. The terminal follows from the operating airline and the route, and we track the flight so a delay or an early landing moves the pickup with it. Your chauffeur waits inside arrivals with a name board, which we describe step by step in our guide to airport meet and greet in Saudi Arabia.

Departures work the same way

For a departure we drop you at the door of the terminal your flight leaves from. A family flying abroad on a Saudi carrier goes to Terminal 1 or 2; a colleague flying home on a foreign airline goes to Terminal 5. If two people in one car are on different airlines, we plan two stops.

What an Airport Transfer Costs

The table shows a selection of our published Riyadh airport transfer rates from the pricing page, one way between King Khalid International and the city, with meet and greet included. VAT applies. The full card, including sedans, is on the pricing page, and every vehicle is on our fleet page.

Vehicle	Seats	Riyadh airport transfer
SUV, Toyota Fortuner or similar	6	SAR 210
SUV, GMC Yukon or similar	6	SAR 290
Hyundai Staria	11	SAR 575
Toyota Coaster	21	SAR 690
BMW 7 Series	3	SAR 690
Mercedes S Class	3	SAR 690

On a Mercedes V Class, book the day rather than a single transfer: the published Riyadh full day is SAR 3,450 for twelve hours, which covers the airport run and the rest of the day with the same car.

The Busy Weeks Ahead

Riyadh's autumn calendar brings more foreign airline traffic through Terminal 5 than any other time of year. The WPC Energy Congress runs at Riyadh Front from 11 to 15 October, Riyadh Season opens on 21 October, FII and the Global Health Exhibition run from 26 to 29 October, and Cityscape Global follows from 16 to 19 November. All four are confirmed events, and delegates on foreign carriers will be arriving into Terminal 5. Companies bringing in several guests can keep every arrival on one arrangement with a corporate account.

Booking

We operate around the clock in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. Send us the airline, flight number and the number of passengers on +966 56 644 0190 or at info@roarkchauffeur.com, and we will meet the flight at the right terminal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Terminal 5 at Riyadh airport still for domestic flights?

No. Since the reallocation completed in February 2026, Terminal 5 at King Khalid International Airport handles international flights of foreign airlines. Domestic flights of Saudi carriers moved to Terminals 3 and 4.

Which terminal do domestic flights use at King Khalid Airport?

Terminals 3 and 4. They handle the domestic flights of Saudi carriers. flynas, for example, has operated its domestic flights from Terminal 3 since 25 February 2026.

Which terminal does Saudia or flynas use for international flights?

International flights of Saudi carriers use Terminals 1 and 2. flynas confirms its international flights operate from Terminal 1. Check your airline's confirmation for the exact terminal of your flight.

Which terminal do foreign airlines use in Riyadh?

Terminal 5. Since February 2026 it is dedicated to international flights operated by foreign airlines.

How do I get between terminals at King Khalid Airport?

The Riyadh Metro Yellow Line has stations serving all five terminals, with dedicated links between Terminals 1 and 2 and between Terminals 3 and 4. Terminal 5 is a separate building, so allow extra time when connecting between it and a domestic flight.

How much is an airport transfer from King Khalid Airport?

Our published Riyadh airport transfers start at SAR 210 for a Toyota Fortuner or similar, with a GMC Yukon at SAR 290 and a Hyundai Staria at SAR 575, one way with meet and greet. VAT applies. The full card is on our pricing page.