Kuwait International Airport is located in Farwaniya, Kuwait, 15.5 kilometers south of Kuwait City, spread over an area of 37.7 square kilometers. It serves as the primary hub for Kuwait Airways, Jazeera Airways and Wataniya Airways. A portion of the airport complex is designated as Al Mubarak Air Base, which contains the headquarters of the Kuwait Air Force, as well as the Kuwait Air Force Museum.
The airport was first launched in the period of 1927-1928. It was originally envisioned as a stop for British planes on their way to British India. The current main airport structure, designed by Kenzo Tange and opened in 1979, was executed and completed by Al Hani Construction in a joint venture with Ballast Nedam of The Netherlands.
The airport underwent a large renovation and expansion project from 1999–2001, in which the former parking lot was cleared and a terminal expansion was built. This incorporated new check-in areas, a new entrance to the airport, the construction of a multi-story parking structure and an airport mall.
Kuwait International Airport can currently handle more than nine million passengers a year. A new general aviation terminal was completed in 2008 under a BOT scheme and is operated by Royal Aviation. By the end of 2008, however, this airport was modified with the construction of a small building named the Sheikh Saad General Aviation Terminal, to handle the scheduled services of Wataniya Airways along with general aviation traffic.
