States redesignated the Military Assistance and Advisory Group, in Saudi Arabia since 1949, as the United States Military Training Mission (USMTM). The USMTM staff, with headquarters at the Dhahran terminal, consisted of three sections representing the American armed services. Each section worked with the corresponding Saudi military service. Civilian Through the 1950s, the Dhahran airfield began to emerge as a commercial transportation hub, as the nearby Dammam oil fields increased the overall economic viability of the area. Additionally, Trans World Airlines began using Dhahran as a hub for increasing transport to and from Asia and Europe. The Dhahran airfield and the emerging support facilities became Dhahran International Airport in 1961, shortly before the United States relinquished control in 1962. The airport terminal building is one of the architectural works of Minoru Yamasaki and was completed in 1961. The architecture is a blending of traditional Islamic forms with modern technology. For example, the flight control tower has the appearance of a minaret. Images of the terminal have been used on Saudi banknotes and is viewed as having influenced the design of a number of important buildings throughout the Middle East. In 1980, Pan Am commenced a nonstop route to New York City using Boeing 747SP's. Passengers on the flight included Americans who resided in Dhahran and Saudis who studied at universities in the United States. However, the carrier announced in January 1986 that the service would cease the following month; Pan Am had sold its 747SP's and did not possess another aircraft type that could perform the flights. Dhahran served a significant role in the 1994 evacuation of U.S. citizens and personnel from Yemen when that country slid into civil war. During Operation Desert Focus in 1996, after the bombing of the Khobar Towers, the airport was used to relocate over 6,000 U.S. citizens and personnel within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Dhahran airfield continued to serve as the Eastern Provinces commercial air hub until the completion, in 1999, of the King Fahd International Airport near Dammam, when all scheduled flights were shifted out of Dhahran International Airport. Military King Abdul-Aziz Air Base has been a major RSAF airbase since the USAF left in 1962, providing air defence, tactical and strategic support for the Eastern Province and nearby regions, as well as providing aviation related technical training to RSAF personnel. Between 1963 and 1999 the base was called Dhahran Air