# Gassim Airport (ELQ)

> Buraidah, SA · IATA: ELQ · ICAO: OEGS · Medium Airport · Cargo Hub

## Quick Facts

| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| IATA | `ELQ` |
| ICAO | `OEGS` |
| City | Buraidah |
| Country | SA |
| Type | Medium Airport |
| Elevation | 648 m |
| Cargo | ✅ |
| GPS | 26.30280, 43.77440 |

## Description

Around 90 percent of Saudi Arabia's date harvest comes from the Qassim region around Buraidah, and Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz International Airport (ELQ) is where much of it takes to the air. Saudia Cargo moved close to 1.5 million kilograms of dates across its network in 2024, up 64 percent year on year. Opened in 1964 and run by Matarat Holding, the airport links Buraidah with Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam plus international points via Saudia, flynas and flydubai. Ground and cargo handling, including perishables and express, has been operated by Swissport since 2020. That makes ELQ a genuine shipping point for temperature-controlled farm exports rather than a mere feeder. Heavy and intercontinental freight is still consolidated through the Jeddah gateway.

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*Freight Academy — Airport Profile: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/gassim-airport-elq](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/gassim-airport-elq)*

*Markdown mirror: [https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/gassim-airport-elq](https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/gassim-airport-elq)*

*LLM-Summary (JSON): https://www.freight-academy.com/api/v1/airports/gassim-airport-elq/llm-summary*