Runways at OTBH
According to OurAirports data (compiled from AIP and FAA sources), Al Udeid Air Base (Ar Rayyan) has one runway: 16/34 - 3,750 m long (12,303 ft), 45 m wide, asphalt surface.
Al Udeid Air Base (Ar Rayyan) (OTBH / XJD)
Qatar · elevation 130 ft AMSL
· 25.1173, 51.3150
About Al Udeid Air Base (Ar Rayyan)
Al Udeid Air Base (Ar Rayyan) is an airport with the ICAO code OTBH and the IATA code XJD. Country: Qatar. Nearest settlement listed in the database: Ar Rayyan. OurAirports classifies it as a medium-sized airport. Its ICAO code starts with the OT prefix, which marks airports in Qatar. The four-letter code OTBH is used in flight operations and weather reports, while the three-letter IATA code XJD is used for ticketing and baggage handling. The airport reference point sits at 25°07'02"N, 51°18'54"E, at an elevation of 130 ft (40 m) above sea level. The applicable time zone is Asia/Qatar.
Satellite view of OTBH
Aerial imagery showing the runway and apron layout - the zoom is matched to the longest runway.
Runways of OTBH
| Threshold | Course | Length | Width | Surface |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 160° | 3,750 m (12,303 ft) | 45 m (148 ft) | asphalt |
| 34 | 340° |
The course is derived from the runway designator (number × 10), not from a survey - the actual magnetic bearing can differ by a few degrees.
Declared distances (TORA, TODA, ASDA, LDA) are published in the national AIP - they are not part of this table.
Climate at Al Udeid Air Base (Ar Rayyan) - statistics from METAR reports
What the METAR reports from OTBH for 2023-2025 show - counted hour by hour.
We computed these statistics from 25,643 METAR reports issued by OTBH in 2023-2025. VFR conditions prevailed 79% of the time, MVFR 18% and IFR or LIFR 3%. Best month for VFR flying: March (93% of hours VFR). Most IFR and LIFR hours: August (6%).
Through the day, IFR or LIFR conditions are most frequent around 03:00 UTC (11% of reports at that hour) and least frequent around 15:00 UTC (1%).
Fog (FG) was reported on 11 days a year on average, most often in December. Thunderstorms (TS) occurred on 6 days a year on average, and snowfall practically never.
The wind most often blows from NNW (338°) - 14% of reports. Calm (0 kt) made up 8% of reports, and gusts of 25 kt or more appeared in 3%. Warmest month: July (average high 45.6 °C); coldest: January (average low 13.6 °C).
Year
Selected period in numbers: 2023-2025
- VFR hours
- 79%
- IFR/LIFR hours
- 3%
- Avg high
- 35.4 °C
- Avg low
- 23.1 °C
- Fog days
- 11
- Thunderstorm days
- 6
- Snow days
- 0
- Prevailing wind
- NNW · 14%
- Gusts ≥ 25 kt
- 3%
Day counts are for the selected period (for all years - the yearly average).
- VFR 79%
- MVFR 18%
- IFR 2%
- LIFR 1%
The top of each bar is the average daily high, the bottom the average daily low (usually around dawn), in °C.
Wind rose
- 1-10 kt
- 11-20 kt
- over 20 kt
- calm: 8%
Most often: NNW - 14% of reports. Each petal shows the direction the wind blows from (as in METAR) - the longer it is, the more often. Colour shows wind speed.
Month by month
| Month | Avg high °C | Avg low °C | VFR | IFR/LIFR | Fog days | Thunderstorm days | Snow days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23.4 | 13.6 | 90% | 3% | 2 | 0.7 | 0 |
| February | 25.3 | 15.0 | 83% | 3% | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0 |
| March | 29.3 | 17.7 | 93% | 1% | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0 |
| April | 35.4 | 22.0 | 82% | 1% | 0 | 0.3 | 0 |
| May | 41.1 | 26.4 | 72% | 1% | 0.3 | 1 | 0 |
| June | 44.4 | 28.9 | 79% | 1% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| July | 45.6 | 31.0 | 77% | 1% | 0.7 | 0 | 0 |
| August | 44.5 | 32.2 | 59% | 6% | 0 | 0.3 | 0 |
| September | 42.3 | 28.8 | 69% | 4% | 0 | 0.3 | 0 |
| October | 37.2 | 25.1 | 78% | 4% | 1 | 0.7 | 0 |
| November | 31.1 | 20.6 | 86% | 3% | 2.3 | 1 | 0 |
| December | 25.6 | 15.8 | 81% | 5% | 3 | 0.3 | 0 |
Temperatures are averages of daily highs and lows. Day counts are the average per month over the period.
Runway headings and wind
The thresholds are oriented as follows: 16/34 on 160° and 340° magnetic. A threshold designator is its magnetic heading divided by ten (ICAO Annex 14), so the runway axis can be read straight off the numbers.
For the 16/34 axis, wind from the west (around 250°) or from the east (around 70°) blows perpendicular to the runway and produces the largest crosswind component. Wind from around 160° or 340° acts along the runway, as a headwind or a tailwind. The decoder on this page computes those components automatically from the current METAR.
METAR and TAF for OTBH
Weather reports for Al Udeid Air Base (Ar Rayyan) are published under the ICAO code OTBH. A METAR is an observation of current conditions, usually issued every 30 or 60 minutes; a TAF is a forecast for the airport area, typically covering 9 to 30 hours.
The decoder breaks the OTBH report down into its parts: wind direction and speed including gusts and variability, visibility (including CAVOK and directional minimum visibility), weather phenomena by WMO code, cloud layers with their bases, temperature and dew point, QNH pressure, and the resulting flight category - VFR, MVFR, IFR or LIFR - using FAA thresholds.
Not every airport issues its own reports; many smaller airfields have no weather station. If no current data is available for OTBH, check the nearby airports listed below.
Reports always use UTC (the Z suffix). The Asia/Qatar zone stays at GMT+03:00 year-round, so converting to local time is always the same shift.
The closest airports in the database, measured in a straight line from the reference point, are Doha International Airport (OTBD, 30 km), Hamad International Airport (Doha) (OTHH, 34 km), Al Qaffay Airport (OMQF, 72 km). When no report is available for OTBH, they usually give the best approximation of conditions in the area.
METAR Academy
Something unclear in the OTBH report?
Step-by-step guides - with examples, charts and calculators.
Advertisement
Pass your ICAO Aviation English exam - 100% online
ICAO Level 4, 5 or 6 for PPL(A)/CPL(A)/ATPL(A): aviation vocabulary, radio phraseology, pronunciation and standard/emergency flight scenarios. Buy through this link and get a 10% discount.
Advertisement
VFR Map Europe - your aeronautical chart in the cockpit
Moving GPS map, airspace and zones, airspace alerts and offline use. Plan your VFR route online for free and send it to the app. The online map is free.
Check VFR MapNearby airports
Looking for a report from a specific day?
The METAR archive for OTBH goes back to 18/05/2016. Pick a date and see every observation from that day.
Live weather from OTBH on your website
Run a flying club, a training organisation or an airfield website? Embed a ready-made panel with the current OTBH METAR - flight category, wind, visibility, temperature and pressure, refreshed automatically. The configurator lets you pick language, theme and units; you paste the code once.
Configure the widget Free, no account and no display limit.