# 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

Close to 1.5 million kilograms of dates travelled across the Saudia Cargo network in 2024 — up 64 percent year on year and reaching more than 45 countries — and much of that harvest starts its journey at Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz International Airport (IATA: ELQ, ICAO: OEGS) near Buraidah, the airport of a region that grows roughly 90 percent of Saudi Arabia's dates. Opened in 1964 and operated by Matarat Holding, it links Buraidah with Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam plus around nine international points served by carriers including Saudia, flynas and flydubai. Ground and cargo handling, perishables and express included, has been in Swissport's hands since 2020. That makes ELQ a genuine origin station for temperature-controlled farm exports rather than a mere feeder, though volumes move largely as belly cargo in passenger aircraft; a dedicated freighter programme is not confirmed. Riyadh lies about 330 kilometres south by motorway, roughly four hours of trucking to the central Saudi road network. Heavy or oversized consignments, dangerous goods and intercontinental freight are still consolidated through the Riyadh (RUH) and Jeddah (JED) gateways.

---

*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*