Batu Berendam Airport

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Batu Berendam Airport
Lapangan Terbang Batu Berendam

IATA: MKZ – ICAO: WMKM
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad
Serves Malacca, Malaysia
Elevation AMSL 35 ft / 11 m
Coordinates 02°15′48″N 102°15′05″E / 2.26333, 102.25139
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
03/21 1,372 4,501 Asphalt
Source: DAFIF[1][2]
This article or section contains information about a planned or expected expansion of an existing airport.
It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the construction and/or completion of the airport expansion approaches, and as more information becomes available on it.

Batu Berendam Airport (IATA: MKZ, ICAO: WMKM) is an airport located in Batu Berendam, a town in the state of Malacca (Melaka) in Malaysia.

The airport occupies 141 acres (0.57 km²) of land, and has a runway only long enough for small aircraft. Firsy built in 1952, the airport had an earth breaking ceremony on April 1, 2006, and is currently undergoing an upgrade, due to be completed by 29 April 2009. The runway is being upgraded from 1372 x 37 meters, to 2045 x 45 meters, allowing Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 aircraft to land. The terminal complex is being replaced by a new 7,000 square-meter terminal equipped with international-standard amenities. The control tower is being replaced and complemented with advanced aeronautical devices. Both ends of the runway will be contain facilities to guide night landing and better assure safety in bad weather conditions.

The Airport and particularly its control tower bears historical significance as it was the very same tower which guided the plane of Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, to land from London on 20th February 1956. It was in Malacca that Tunku announced the date for the independance of then Malaya from the United Kingdom. Considering the historical nature of this control tower, the Cheif Minister of Malacca, Mohd. Ali Rustam is attempting to save the tower, by either relocating it, or by changing plans to incorporate the tower.

Currently, the airport services Riau Airlines, which operates flights from Pekanbaru five times per week.[citation needed] Malacca has become a popular destination for healthcare and medical-tourism from Indonesia, particularly Sumatera. This has greatly increased the passenger influx through the airport, with all three private hospitals in the city operating regular free shuttle-bus services to and from the airport.

The airport is also used as the base of the Malaysian Flying Academy (MFA), which has been operating out of the airport since 1987.

In September 2005, AirAsia announced that it will make Batu Berendam Airport a destination once renovation work has been completed. It is likely that AirAsia will use the airport as a hub to operate flights to Indonesia. It is unlikely that Malaysia Airlines or Airasia would introduce the Kuala Lumpur-Malacca sector because the latter is only 147.5 km away from the country's capital, less than 90 minutes of drive time. The Malacca state government is also in discussion with AirAsia for a proposal to fly to Nanjing,China from Malacca. Firefly also has plans to start a Penang-Malacca route once the expansion of the airport is completed. It will be known as Batu Berendam International Airport.

Batu Berendam Airport Control Tower
Batu Berendam Airport Control Tower
Satellite Imagery of Batu Berendam Airport
Satellite Imagery of Batu Berendam Airport

[edit] Airlines and destinations

[edit] References

  1. ^ Airport information for WMKM at World Aero Data. Source: DAFIF.
  2. ^ Airport information for MKZ at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF.

[edit] External links


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