Kuala Lumpur International Airport

Kuala Lumpur International Airport
Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kuala Lumpur
IATA: KULICAO: WMKK
WMO: 48650
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner Government of Malaysia
Operator Malaysia Airports
Serves Greater Klang Valley
Location Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia
Hub for
Time zone MST (UTC+08:00)
Elevation AMSL 70 ft / 21 m
Coordinates 02°44′36″N 101°41′53″E / 2.74333°N 101.69806°ECoordinates: 02°44′36″N 101°41′53″E / 2.74333°N 101.69806°E
Website klia.com.my
Map
WMKK

Location in Peninsular Malaysia

Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
14L/32R 4,019 13,186 Concrete
14R/32L 4,000 13,123 Concrete
15/33 4,000 13,123 Concrete
Statistics (2014)
Passenger 48,930,409 (Increase 3.0%)
Airfreight (tonnes) 753,899 (Increase 10.7%)
Aircraft movements 340,821 (Increase 4.3%)
Source: AIP Malaysia[1]

Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) (IATA: KUL, ICAO: WMKK) is Malaysia's main international airport and one of the major airports of South East Asia. Built at a cost of US$3.5 billion[2] in Sepang district of Selangor, it is located approximately 45 kilometres (28 mi) from Kuala Lumpur city centre and serves the Greater Klang Valley conurbation.

KLIA is the largest and busiest airport in Malaysia. In 2014, it handled 48,930,409 and 753,899 tonnes of cargo. It is the world's 20th-busiest airport by total passenger traffic, 13th-busiest airport by international passenger traffic, and 28th-busiest airport by cargo traffic.

The airport is operated by Malaysia Airports (MAHB) Sepang Sdn Bhd and is the major hub of Malaysia Airlines, MASkargo, AirAsia, AirAsia X, and Malindo Air.

History

Background

KLIA main entrance from the side
KLIA Main terminal architecture

The ground breaking ceremony for Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) took place on 1 June 1993 when the government decided that the existing Kuala Lumpur airport, then known as Subang International Airport (now Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport) could not handle future demand. It was created as part of the Multimedia Super Corridor, a grand development plan for Malaysia.

Upon KLIA's completion, Subang Airport's Terminal 1 building was demolished. Malaysia Airports agreed to redevelop the remaining Terminal 3 to create a specialist airport for turboprop and charter planes surrounded by a residential area and a business park. The IATA airport code KUL was transferred from Subang Airport, which currently handles only turboprop aircraft, general aviation and military aircraft. Subang Airport's IATA code was changed to SZB.

Current site

The airport's site spans 100 square kilometres (39 sq mi) 2,[2] of former agricultural land and is one of the world's largest airport sites. An ambitious three-phase development plan anticipates KLIA to have five runways and two terminals each with two satellite terminals.[3] Phase One involved the construction of the main terminal and one satellite terminal, giving a capacity of 25 million passengers, and two full service runways. The Phase One airport had sixty contact piers, twenty remote parking bays with eighty aircraft parking positions, four maintenance hangars and fire stations. Phase Two, designed to increase capacity to 35 million passengers per year is largely complete. Phase Three is anticipated to increase capacity to 100 million passengers per year.[3]

Grand opening

Kuala Lumpur International Airport was officially inaugurated by the 10th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Ja'afar of Negeri Sembilan, on 27 June 1998 at 20:30 MST, a week ahead of Hong Kong International Airport and in time for the 1998 Commonwealth Games. The first domestic arrival was Malaysia Airlines flight MH1263 from Kuantan (Kuantan Airport) at 07:10 MST. The first international arrival was Malaysia Airlines flight MH188 from Malé International Airport at 07:30 MST. The first domestic departure was Malaysia Airlines flight MH1432 to Langkawi (Langkawi International Airport) at 07:20 MST; the first international departure was Malaysia Airlines flight MH84 to Beijing (Beijing Capital International Airport) at 09:00 MST.[4]

Inauguration

Inside the main terminal building.
The Jungle boardwalk, a recreational walk path located at the centre core of the KLIA satellite terminal.

The inauguration of the airport was marked with problems. Aerobridge and bay allocation systems broke down, queues built up throughout the airport and baggage handling broke down. Bags were lost and there were waits of over five hours.[5] Most of these issues were remedied eventually, though baggage handling system was plagued with problems until it was put up for a complete replacement tender in 2007.

The airport suffered greatly reduced traffic with the general reduction in economic activity brought about by the East Asian financial crisis, SARS, bird flu epidemic (Avian flu), the global financial crisis and the swine flu pandemic. 1998 saw a reduction of passenger numbers as some airlines, including All Nippon Airways (recommencing on 1 September 2015), British Airways (resumed on 28 May 2015), Lufthansa (later reinstated) and Northwest Airlines, terminated their loss making services to KLIA. KLIA's first full year of operations in 1999, in its Phase One manifestation (capacity of 25 million passengers per year), saw only 13.2 million passengers.[6] Passenger numbers eventually increased to 21.1 million in 2004 and 23.2 million in 2005 — though short of the originally estimated 25 million passengers per year by 2003.

Runways

Kuala Lumpur International Airport has three parallel runways (two for main KLIA and one for klia2). Two KLIA operational runways are located 2 kilometres from each other, which are designed for simultaneous take-offs and landings. The first is 4,000 m × 60 m (13,123 ft × 197 ft). The second runway is 4,019 m × 60 m (13,186 ft × 197 ft). Runway 3 for klia2 is 4,000 m × 60 m (13,123 ft × 197 ft) and is monitored by a dedicated separate air traffic control (ATC) tower which is currently the tallest ATC tower in the world.

Operations and infrastructure

Infrastructure
Passenger terminal buildings
Totals Current
Floor area 737,249 m2
Handling capacity 70 million passengers per annum
Parking bays 114 (aerobridge)
48 (remote)
Main Terminal Building 1 & Contact Pier
Opened 27 June 1998
Floor area 336,000 m2
Handling capacity 5 million passengers per annum
Parking bays 20 (aerobridge)
23 (remote)
Satellite Terminal A
Opened 27 June 1998 
Floor area 143,404 m2
Handling capacity 20 million passengers per annum
Parking bays 26 (aerobridge)
15 (remote)
klia2
Opened 2 May 2014
Floor area 257,845 m2
Handling capacity 45 million passengers per annum
Parking bays 68 (aerobridge)
10 (remote)
Bunga Raya Complex
Opened 27 June 1998 
Floor area
Handling capacity
Parking bays 1

KLIA features a number of modern design features that assist in the efficient operation of the airport. It is one of the first Asia Pacific airports to become 100% Bar Coded Boarding Pass capable.[7] AirAsia, a Malaysian passenger airline;[8] MASkargo, a cargo airline;[9] and Malaysia Airports, the Malaysian Airports operator and manager; are headquartered on the property of KLIA.[10] Malaysia Airlines operates its Flight Management Building at KLIA.[11]

Terminals

The Passenger Terminal Complex (PTC) was built with an emphasis on allowing natural light into the building. Thus, there is a huge expanse of glass throughout the building, and the spectacular roof has cut-outs for natural light to filter in. The PTC comprises three buildings – the Main Terminal Building, the Satellite Building and the Contact Pier. Besides the 80-room hotel at the Satellite Building, there is a 422-room 5-star Sama-Sama Hotel KLIA, a five-minute (indoor) walk away. Shopping spots are available in an area encompassing 85,000 square metres. Currently, the retail space at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport stands at 67,000 square metres (720,000 sq ft). The airport operator plans to increase the retail space to 105,300 square metres (1,133,000 sq ft), an 62.2% increase in retail space.

As there are international flights operating out from the airport, therefore terminals of the airport are equipped with immigration processing facilities and security scanning for all passengers including domestic passengers. The Satellite terminal handles most of the international flights, while the main terminal building's contact pier handles domestic traffic, regional international flights and international flights routed to other hubs within Malaysia. Malaysia Airlines operate from both terminals, where main terminal building's contact pier is their preferred terminal for domestic flights. Conversely, low cost carriers such as Tigerair, Cebu Pacific and AirAsia group of airlines operate domestic and international flights out of klia2, the low-cost carrier terminal at KLIA.[12]

The initial passenger growth was below average due to Asian Financial Crisis and the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2003 and the airport failed to reach its target capacity of 25 million passengers per annum (before the inclusion of low cost carrier terminal) by 2004. However, the recovery of Malaysia's economy boosted Kuala Lumpur International Airport's passenger movements, and the airport saw significant growth in traffic, hitting the 25 million passenger mark in 2007. In 2013, the airport saw a monumental increase in passenger traffic to 47 million passengers.[13]

Main terminal building and contact pier

Malaysia Airlines at Contact Pier

The KLIA Main Terminal Building (MTB) is located in between the two runways. The floor area of the terminal covers 390,000 m2 (4,200,000 sq ft) and the building consists of 39 square roof units, which enables future expansion of the building. There are a total of 216 check-in counters, located in 6 different islands, identified by the letters A – M (excluding I). Multi check-in services are available, designed for the use of all passengers arriving, departing or in transit. On 2 February 2007, Malaysia Airports introduces 12 integrated self check-in kiosks (CUSS) for passengers. The first airline to use that system is KLM.[14] A further 24 kiosks will be added later by the airport operator[15][16]

The contact pier is the rectangular-shaped terminal that is connected to the KLIA Main Terminal Building (MTB). It serves as the domestic terminal for Malaysia Airlines. Some international flights are handled there as well. Previously it used to cater to low-cost carriers' passengers. At the north side of the pier, it can only accommodate narrow-bodied aircraft. In contrast, the south side of the contact pier can accommodate Boeing 737 and Boeing 747 or similar sized aircraft.

The gates in Main Terminal Building's contact pier has alphabet prefix of A and B for domestic flights, which is accessible from domestic departures on Level 3 where passengers descend after security check, and G and H for international flights. Basically Gates G & H are sharing the same boarding lounge as Gates A & B, where after boarding and secondary security check (before boarding aircraft) passengers descend into the same boarding lounge with the doors for "A & B" on level 3 sealed off for international flights. For domestic flights, the stairs to access "G & H" are sealed off instead.

Satellite terminal A

Interior of the Satellite Terminal

The 176,000 square metres (1,890,000 sq ft) satellite building accommodates international flights departing and arriving at KLIA. Passengers have to travel to the satellite building via the Aerotrain. There is a wide array of duty-free shops and prestige brand boutiques in the satellite building. This includes international brands such as Burberry, Harrods, Montblanc, Salvatore Ferragamo and recently, Mango has opened its first boutique at an airport in the Asian region. Among all international labels available within the terminal, some boutiques such as Harrods are only available in the airport. A number of restaurants and international airlines' lounges are available as well as an Airside Transit Hotel.

Within the terminal, wireless internet (Wi-Fi) is provided free of charge. The terminal also has prayer rooms, showers and massage service. Various lounge areas are provided, some including children's play areas and movie lounge, broadcasting movie and sport channels.[17] The terminal also features a natural rainforest in the middle of the terminal, exhibiting the Malaysian rainforests.

Palm trees in the satellite building
Satellite building near the Aerotrain

Under Malaysia Airports Berhad retail optimisation plan, the retail space in satellite terminal A will be further optimised to increase its revenue derived from commercial space rental and a percentage of sale receipts to 50% by year 2010 which currently stands at 35%. Some notable improvements that will be seen after the refurbishments will be the Jungle Boardwalk which will be the first of its kind in the world and larger mezzanine floor to accommodate F&B outlets and viewing galleries.[18]

The gates in Satellite Terminal A have the prefix C.The Satellite A terminal has 27 boarding gates altogether.

klia2

Artist's impression of klia2
Check-in counters

klia2 is the low-cost carrier terminal at KLIA. The terminal is located 2 kilometres away from the Main Terminal Building (MTB). klia2 is built to cater for the explosive growth in low cost travel in the region and has replaced the former Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT). klia2 started operations on 2 May 2014 and all flight operations at LCCT were moved to klia2 by 9 May 2014.[19][20]

Built at a cost of approximately RM4 billion (US$1.3 billion), klia2 is the world's largest purpose-built terminal dedicated to low-cost carriers and it is designed to cater for 45 million passengers a year with future capacity expansion capability.[21] The terminal is served by a dedicated 4 km runway (KLIA's Runway 3) and a 141.3m air-traffic control (ATC) tower,[22] making it the world's tallest ATC tower.

The terminal has a built-up area of 257,845 sqm with 68 departure gates, 10 remote stands, 80 aerobridges, includes a retail space of 35,000 sqm to accommodate a total of 220 retail outlets.[23] The main terminal building of klia2 is connected with its satellite piers with a skybridge, making it the first airport in Asia with such facility.[24] klia2 is certified with Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED).

Check-in counters are divided into 8 rows located in 4 islands, each row identified by the letters S – Z. Boarding gates are located in 5 piers, indicated by the letters J and K for domestic flights, and L, P and Q for international flights. Piers J, K and L are connected directly to the main terminal building, while Piers P and Q are accessible via the skybridge. Piers K and L are physically the same pier and share the same gates, but with waiting lounges on different levels (Level 1A for K and Level 2 for L). For international flights, the access door from Pier K is sealed off, while for domestic flights, the access door from Pier L is sealed off instead.

At present, inter-terminal connection is provided on the landside at Gateway@klia2 complex and there are provisions for future airside inter-terminal connection.

Gateway@klia2

klia2 Getting Around map

Gateway@klia2 is an integrated complex that is connected to the main klia2 terminal building. It has a 350,000 square feet of net lettable space spanning over 4 levels, offering a fresh airport-within-a-mall concept. The transport hub at Gateway@klia2 links klia2 to the Express Rail Link (ERL) (also known as KLIA Ekspres), with allotted pick-up and drop-off areas for coaches, taxis, rented vehicles and private transportation.[25]

Gateway@klia2 hosts a 8-storey car park that directly adjoins klia2. There are 6,000 covered parking lots at Blocks A and B and another 5,500 lots at car park D. Shuttle buses are available to take the public from the car park D to the terminal. The car park is fully gated with 24-hour security personnel on duty. The parking rate for the covered parking facility at klia2 is RM4 per hour for the first 3 hours, and up to a maximum daily rate of RM46.[26] The first capsule transit hotel in Asia named as the Capsule by Container Hotel is also located at Gateway@klia2. Gateway@klia2 is managed by WCT Holdings Berhad.[27]

KL City Air Terminal

KL City Air Terminal, sometimes known as Kuala Lumpur City Air Terminal or KL CAT located at KL Sentral is a virtual extension of KL International Airport where city check-in services are provided. KL City Air Terminal is recognised by International Air Transport Association which carries IATA designation XKL. Currently there are only 5 airlines providing city check-in services, they are Cathay Pacific, Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways, Malaysia Airlines and Royal Brunei Airlines.[28] However, the situation is due to be changed as 10 SITA's AirportConnect CUTE (Common Use Terminal Equipment) were installed on 10 check-in desks in KL CAT that enables all airlines to offer city check-in service for their passengers.[29]

Low cost carrier terminal (LCCT)

The 36,000 square metres (390,000 sq ft) Low cost carrier terminal (LCCT) was opened at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on 23 March 2006 to cater for the growing number of users of low cost airlines, especially the passengers of Malaysia's "no-frills" airline, AirAsia. The terminal was designed and built in accordance to the low cost carrier business model, with limited terminal amenities. As requested by the low cost airline, the terminal does not provide aerobridges, nor are there transfer facilities, rail connections, and other facilities provided in a full-fledged terminal.

The LCCT was located on the opposite side of the apron from the Main Terminal Building (MTB), with close proximity to the air cargo area. The terminal underwent expansion in 2008 to accommodate exponential growth of low cost travel.[30] Following the opening of klia2, the new terminal built for low cost air-travel, the LCCT ceased operations on 9 May 2014 and all low-cost carrier flights are now operating out of klia2.

The AirAsia corporate head offce is in the LCCT.[31] The airline plans to move its head office to a new facility constructed at klia2 scheduled to open in the end of 2015.[32]

Airlines and destinations

A Malaysia Airlines Airbus A380 taxiing out for departure
An Emirates A380 approaching Kuala Lumpur International Airport
KLM Boeing 747-400 departing from Kuala Lumpur International Airport
A Lufthansa Airbus A340-600 on final approach to KLIA
A SriLankan Airlines Airbus A340-300 upon arrival to Kuala Lumpur International Airport
An Air India Express Boeing 737-800 taxiing out, with China Southern Airlines Airbus A319 on the foreground
An Uzbekistan Airways Airbus A310-200 preparing for departure

Passenger

Airlines Destinations Terminal
Air Astana Almaty Satellite
Air China Beijing-Capital (resumes 25 October 2015)[33] Satellite
Air France Paris-Charles de Gaulle Satellite
Air India Express Chennai, Mumbai Satellite
Air KoryoPyongyang Satellite
Air Mauritius MauritiusNote 1 Satellite
AirAsia Alor Setar, Balikpapan, Banda Aceh, Bandar Seri Begawan, Bandung, Bangalore, Bangkok-Don Mueang, Bintulu, Cebu, Chennai, Chiang Mai, Clark, Da Nang, Denpasar, Guangzhou, Guilin, Hanoi, Hat Yai, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Hyderabad,[34] Jakarta-Soekarno Hatta, Johor Bahru, Kalibo, Kochi, Kolkata, Kota Bharu, Kota Kinabalu, Krabi, Kuala Terengganu, Kuching, Kunming, Labuan, Langkawi, Lombok, Macau, Makassar, Malé (begins 16 July 2015),[35] Manila (begins 12 July 2015),[36] Medan, Miri, Nanning, Padang, Palembang, Pekanbaru, Penang, Phnom Penh, Phuket, Pontianak, Sandakan, Semarang, Shenzhen, Sibu, Siem Reap, Singapore, Solo, Surabaya, Surat Thani, Tawau, Tiruchirapalli, Vientiane, Visakhapatnam (begins 7 May 2015),[37] Yangon, Yogyakarta klia2
AirAsia X Beijing-Capital, Busan, Chengdu, Chongqing, Colombo, Gold Coast, Hangzhou, Jeddah, Kathmandu, Melbourne, Osaka-Kansai, Perth, Seoul-Incheon, Shanghai-Pudong, Sydney, Taipei-Taoyuan, Tokyo-Haneda, Tokyo-Narita,[38] Xi'an klia2
AirAsia Zest Manila klia2
All Nippon Airways Tokyo-Narita (resumes 1 September 2015)[39] Satellite
Bangkok Airways Koh Samui Satellite
Biman Bangladesh Airlines Dhaka Satellite
British Airways London-Heathrow (resumes 28 May 2015)[40] Satellite
Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Satellite
Cebu Pacific Manila klia2
China Airlines Taipei-Taoyuan Satellite
China Eastern Airlines Wuhan Satellite
China Southern Airlines Guangzhou Satellite
EgyptAir Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Cairo Satellite
Emirates Dubai-International, Melbourne Satellite
Ethiopian Airlines Addis Ababa, Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi Satellite
Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Satellite
EVA Air Taipei-Taoyuan Satellite
Flynas Charter: Jeddah Satellite
Garuda Indonesia Jakarta-Soekarno Hatta Satellite
Indonesia AirAsia Bandung, Denpasar, Jakarta-Soekarno Hatta, Medan, Surabaya klia2
Iran Air Tehran-Imam Khomeini Satellite
Iran Aseman Airlines Tehran-Imam Khomeini[41] Satellite
Iraqi Airways Baghdad Satellite
Japan Airlines Tokyo-Narita Satellite
Jetstar Asia Airways Singapore Satellite
KLM Amsterdam, Jakarta-Soekarno Hatta Satellite
Korean Air Seoul-Incheon Satellite
Kuwait Airways Jakarta-Soekarno Hatta, Kuwait Satellite
Lion Air Jakarta-Soekarno Hatta klia2
Lufthansa Frankfurt, Jakarta-Soekarno Hatta Satellite
Mahan Air Tehran-Imam Khomeini Satellite
Malaysia Airlines Alor Star, Bangalore, Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Bandar Seri Begawan, Bintulu, Chennai, Colombo, Darwin, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hyderabad, Jakarta-Soekarno Hatta, Johor Bahru, Kathmandu, Kochi (ends 1 June 2015),[42] Kota Bharu, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Terengganu, Kuantan, Kuching, Krabi (ends 6 May 2015),[42] Labuan, Langkawi, Malé, Manila, Medan, Miri, Penang, Phnom Penh, Phuket, Sandakan, Sibu, Siem Reap, Singapore, Taipei-Taoyuan, Tawau, Xiamen, Yangon Main
Malaysia Airlines Adelaide, Amsterdam, Auckland, Beijing-Capital, Brisbane, Delhi, Denpasar, Dhaka, Dubai-International, Frankfurt (ends 28 May 2015),[43] Hong Kong, Istanbul-Atatürk, Jeddah, Kathmandu, London-Heathrow, Melbourne, Mumbai, Osaka-Kansai, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Perth, Seoul-Incheon, Shanghai-Pudong, Sydney, Tokyo-Narita Satellite
Malindo Air Bandung, Bangkok-Don Mueang, Chittagong, Delhi, Denpasar, Dhaka, Jakarta-Soekarno Hatta, Kathmandu, Kochi, Kota Bharu, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Langkawi, Mumbai, Penang, Singapore, Tiruchirapalli, Visakhapatnam klia2
Mega Maldives Malé klia2
Myanmar Airways International Yangon Satellite
Nepal Airlines Kathmandu Satellite
Oman Air Muscat, Singapore Satellite
Pakistan International Airlines Islamabad,[44] Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar Satellite
Qatar Airways Doha Satellite
Regent Airways Dhaka Satellite
Royal Brunei Airlines Bandar Seri Begawan Satellite
Royal Jordanian Amman-Queen Alia, Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi Satellite
Saudia Jeddah, Medina, Riyadh Satellite
Shanghai Airlines Shanghai-Pudong Satellite
SilkAir Singapore Satellite
Singapore Airlines Singapore Satellite
SriLankan Airlines Colombo Satellite
Thai AirAsia Bangkok-Don Mueang, Phuket klia2
Thai Airways Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi Satellite
Tigerair Singapore klia2
Turkish Airlines Istanbul-Atatürk Satellite
Turkmenistan Airlines Ashgabat Satellite
United Airways Dhaka Satellite
Uzbekistan Airways Singapore, Tashkent Satellite
Vietnam Airlines Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City Satellite
Xiamen Airlines Dalian, Fuzhou, Tianjin, Xiamen Satellite
Yemenia Dubai-International, Sana'a Satellite

^Note 1 Air Mauritius flies onwards Singapore vv. However, Air Mauritius doesn't have fifth freedom traffic rights to transport passengers solely between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

^Note 2 Malaysia Airlines regional/international flights using narrow body aircraft depart from Main Terminal Gates G/H, which are actually the upper floor of Gates A/B after immigration. However this is revised when equipment used varies on different dates, and can change from time to time.

Cargo

Airlines Destinations
Cargolux Baku, Chennai, Luxembourg, Singapore
China Airlines Cargo Chennai, Luxembourg, Penang, Taipei-Taoyuan
FedEx Express Cebu, Guangzhou, Penang, Singapore, Tokyo-Narita
Gading Sari Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Miri
Hong Kong Airlines Hong Kong
Korean Air Cargo Penang, Seoul-Incheon
MASkargo Amsterdam, Baku, Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Chennai, Dubai-Al Maktoum, Frankfurt, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Labuan, Manila, Penang, Shanghai-Pudong, Sydney, Taipei-Taoyuan, Tokyo-Narita,[45] Zhengzhou
Republic Express AirlinesJakarta-Soekarno-Hatta
UPS Airlines Anchorage, Atlanta, Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Louisville, Manila, Miami, Mumbai, New York-JFK, Osaka-Kansai, Seoul-Incheon, Shenzhen, Taipei-Taoyuan, Tokyo-Narita, Toronto-Pearson, Vancouver

Statistics

Busiest international routes (2014)[46]
RankAirportPassengers% change
2013 / 14
1 Singapore Singapore, Singapore 3,379,751Decrease 1.7
2 Indonesia Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta, Indonesia 2,066,894Increase 1.9
3 Hong Kong Hong Kong, China 1,424,948Decrease 6.0
4 Indonesia Denpasar, Indonesia 1,128,373Increase 17.7
5 Thailand Bangkok-Don Mueang, Thailand 992,483Increase 1.7
6 Australia Melbourne, Australia 916,815Increase 15.5
7 Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 904,655Increase 2.9
8 Taiwan Taipei-Taoyuan, Taiwan 898,285Increase 7.2
9 Thailand Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Thailand 869,211Decrease 15.7
10 Australia Sydney, Australia 816,560Increase 23.4
11 United Arab Emirates Dubai, United Arab Emirates 791,244Increase 2.5
12 Bangladesh Dhaka, Bangladesh 738,936Increase 26.4
13 Indonesia Medan, Indonesia 709,066Increase 123.5
14 Philippines Manila, Philippines 697,528Increase 16.5
15 Thailand Phuket, Thailand 695,955Decrease 4.9
16 South Korea Seoul-Incheon, South Korea 647,386Increase 11.3
17 China Guangzhou, China 644,668Decrease 7.0
18 United Kingdom London-Heathrow, United Kingdom 573,635Decrease 7.5
19 China Shanghai-Pudong, China 556,588Decrease 9.2
20 Australia Perth, Australia 554,305Increase 11.2
21 Indonesia Surabaya, Indonesia 547,017Decrease 11.9
22 Saudi Arabia Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 520,120Increase 17.6
23 Nepal Kathmandu, Nepal 516,109Increase 58.8
24 Qatar Doha, Qatar 437,781Increase 10.7
25 Sri Lanka Colombo, Sri Lanka 437,149Increase 15.9
26 India Chennai, India 432,628Decrease 12.1
27 China Beijing-Capital, China 415,235Decrease 23.8
28 India Tiruchirappalli, India 393,390Increase 79.0
29 Japan Tokyo-Narita, Japan 374,884Decrease 0.3
30 India Delhi, India 367,371Increase 35.7
31 France Paris-Charles de Gaulle, France 362,027Increase 5.0
32 Japan Osaka-Kansai, Japan 359,200Increase 22.0
33 Netherlands Amsterdam, Netherlands 359,002Decrease 9.4
34 Burma Yangon, Myanmar 356,358Increase 12.9
35 Brunei Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei 353,593Decrease 1.3
36 Indonesia Bandung, Indonesia 340,753Decrease 5.5
37 Cambodia Phnom Penh, Cambodia 338,650Increase 6.9
38 Vietnam Hanoi, Vietnam 334,435Decrease 2.2
39 United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates 320,180Increase 7.5
40 India Mumbai, India 291,381Increase 21.6
41 India Kochi, India 255,593 Increase 87.8
42 Thailand Krabi, Thailand 253,305Increase 29.2
43 Australia Adelaide, Australia 250,141Increase 39.3
44 Macau Macau, China 234,241Decrease 18.8
45 Japan Tokyo-Haneda, Japan 231,144Increase 0.5
46 Turkey Istanbul-Atatürk, Turkey 224,675Increase 60.3
47 Australia Gold Coast, Australia 213,681Increase 26.4
48 China Chengdu, China 209,451Increase 14.0
49 India Bangalore, India 199,359Increase 5.6
50 China Shenzhen, China 199,336Decrease 2.2

Operational statistics of Kuala Lumpur International Airport[46]
Year
Passengers
handled
Passenger
% change
Airfreight movements
(tonnes)
Airfreight
% change
Aircraft
Movements
Aircraft
% change
19986,524,405Steady156,641Steady64,123Steady
199913,172,635Increase 101.9417,068Increase 166.3116,589Increase 81.8
200014,732,876Increase 11.8510,594Increase 22.4109,925Decrease 5.7
200114,538,831Decrease 1.3440,864Decrease 13.6113,590Increase 3.3
200216,398,230Increase 12.8527,124Increase 19.6127,952Increase 12.6
200317,454,564Increase 6.4586,195Increase 11.2139,947Increase 9.4
200421,058,572Increase 20.6651,747Increase 11.2165,115Increase 18.0
200523,213,926Increase 10.2653,654Increase 0.3182,537Increase 10.5
200624,129,748Increase 4.0672,888Increase 3.0183,869Increase 0.7
200726,453,379Increase 9.6644,100Decrease 4.3193,710Increase 5.3
200827,529,355Increase 4.1649,077Increase 0.8211,228Increase 9.0
200929,682,093Increase 7.8584,559Decrease 10.0226,751Increase 7.3
201034,087,636Increase 14.8674,902Increase 15.4245,650Increase 8.3
201137,704,510Increase 10.6669,849Decrease 0.7269,509Increase 9.7
201239,887,866Increase 5.8673,107Increase 0.5283,352Increase 5.1
201347,498,157Increase 19.1680,982Increase 1.2326,678Increase 15.3
201448,930,409Increase 3.0753,899Increase 10.7 340,821Increase 4.3
Total passenger movements by countries (2014) [46]
RankCountryPassengers movement% change
2013 / 14
1 Malaysia Malaysia (Domestic) 14,134,157 Decrease 2.8
2 Indonesia Indonesia 5,825,265Increase 4.1
3 Singapore Singapore 3,379,751Decrease 1.7
4 Thailand Thailand 3,206,734Decrease 3.1
5 Australia Australia 2,934,565Increase 19.3
6 China China 2,717,161Decrease 2.4
7 India India 2,144,088Increase 25.3
8 Hong Kong Hong Kong 1,424,948Decrease 6.0
9 Vietnam Vietnam 1,255,213Increase 0.6
10 United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates 1,138,106Increase 6.4
Busiest international freight routes (2014) [46]
RankAirportFreight handled (tonnes)% change
2013 / 14
1 Hong Kong 69,659Increase 21.4
2 Shanghai-Pudong 36,457Increase 9.8
3 Amsterdam 32,719Increase 5.2
4 Seoul-Incheon31,756Decrease 5.2
5 Sydney 28,473Increase 13.6
6 Frankfurt 27,921Increase 15.0
7 Taipei-Taoyuan24,862Increase 5.5
8Melbourne 23,641Increase 15.8
9 Singapore 23,388Increase 10.0
10Guangzhou23,276Increase 7.5

Ground transportation

Inter-terminal transportation

Aerotrain station in Satellite Building

The Aerotrain is an automated people mover (APM) that connects the airside of KLIA Main Terminal Building (MTB) and the Satellite Building. Each 250-person capacity train can transport 3,000 passengers per hour in each direction at up to 56 km/h (35 mph). These three-car driverless trains run on elevated rail and under the taxiways. The journey takes under two minutes. The Aerotrain operates between three to five-minute intervals between terminal. Automatic train controls manage the operation of the entire Aerotrain system, controlling the speeds, headways, stops and door openings in stations, and integrating functions that enhance the reliability and performance of the system.[47]

KLIA Transit and KLIA Ekspres provides landside connections between klia2 and KLIA Main Terminal Building (MTB), and vice versa. This inter-terminal journey takes 3-minutes to connect both terminals before proceeding onwards to KL Sentral.[48]

External connections

Rail

Kuala Lumpur International Airport is linked to the KL Sentral transportation hub in the city centre by the 57 km long Express Rail Link (ERL). There are two ERL stations at the airport: KLIA station at the Main Terminal Building and klia2 station at Gateway@klia2. The airport is served by two rail services on the ERL:

Taxis and limousine

Airport taxis or airport limousines are provided by Airport Limo. The taxis and limousines are readily available at the Taxi and Limousine counters. They run from airport itself to destinations in Klang Valley and Greater Klang Valley. The fares are to be paid at the counter and are charged according to the destinations' zone. A surcharge is applied for services between 12 am to 5 am

Bus

Both public and private buses connect KLIA and klia2 to several points in Kuala Lumpur and beyond.

Expansion and developments

Plans

KLIA Aeropolis Masterplan

With the slight modification of the masterplan, the future Terminal 2's satellite terminal will be combined into one satellite terminal. The expansion of Terminal 2's satellite terminal will be exactly the same as Terminal 1's satellite terminal, where initially the satellite terminal will have four arms, and another four arms when the terminal reached its capacity. There is sufficient land and capacity to develop facilities to handle up to 97.5 million passengers a year, four runways by the year 2020 and two mega-terminals, each linked with satellite terminals.[3]

Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT)

It is expected that the current LCCT will be converted into a cargo hub after all low-cost carrier flights have operate out of klia2.[49] The RM124 million LCCT expansion project tender was won by Fajarbaru Builder Group Bhd and construction work began in March 2008.[50] The new international arrival hall was opened on 15 December 2008, and the rest of the wing were fully operational by March 2009.[30] The LCCT international departure hall was opened on 18 March 2009 which expanded the handling capacity from 600 passengers at one time to 3200 passengers.[51]

A380 upgrades

The operator of Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad, had spent about RM135 million (approx US$39 million) to upgrade facilities at the KL International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang to accommodate the Airbus A380. Upgrading works started on 3 April 2006, and was completed by 28 May 2007. Works include the provision of shoulders on both sides of the two existing runways of 15 meters as well as the taxiways, building additional aerobridges at the three departure halls, namely C17, C27 and C37, and enhancing the mezzanine lounges for upper deck passengers of the aircraft at the departure halls. Emirates operates flights to Kuala Lumpur with the Airbus A380 commenced on 1 January 2012.[52] Malaysia Airlines also started its A380 services from Kuala Lumpur to London on 1 July 2012.[52]

Gallery

Panoramic view of Main Terminal Building and Contact Pier

References

  1. WMKK – KL INTERNATIONAL/SEPANG at Department of Civil Aviation Malaysia
  2. 2.0 2.1 "History of KLIA". 1998.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Phases of KLIA". 1998.
  4. "First Flights of Kuala Lumpur International Airport". Department of Civil Aviation KLIA Branch. 1998.
  5. "KLIA's opening marked with problems". Lim Kit Siang Media Release. July 1998.
  6. "Passengers at Kuala Lumpur Airport up despite fewer airlines". Asian Economic News. 6 August 2001.
  7. Check-In News, Analysis and Event. "Kuala Lumpur's StB vision". Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  8. Chan Tien Hin. "AirAsia Has Record Drop on Loss, Analyst Downgrade." Bloomberg L.P.. 1 December 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
  9. "Location Map." MASkargo. Retrieved 22 February 2010. "Malaysia Airlines Cargo Sdn. Bhd. 1M, Zone C, Advanced Cargo Centre KLIA Free Commercial Zone, Southern Support Zone Kuala Lumpur International Airport 64000 Sepang Selangor, Malaysia "
  10. "Contact Information." Malaysia Airports. Retrieved 23 May 2011. "Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad Malaysia Airports Corporate Office, Persiaran Korporat KLIA, 64000 KLIA, Sepang, Selangor."
  11. "Contact." Malaysia Airlines. Retrieved on 31 October 2012. "MAS Golden Boutiques Sdn. Bhd. 1st Floor, MAS Flight Management Building 64000 Sepang, Kuala Lumpur International Airport Selangor, Malaysia"
  12. "AAirAsia helps Kuala Lumpur towards 30 million; Singapore route soon to be fully liberalised". anna.aero. 10 October 2008.
  13. "Airport Traffic Report" (PDF). 1998.
  14. "KLIA Introduces Integrated Self Check in Kiosks for Benefits of Passengers". Air Transport News.
  15. "Self Check in at KLIA". New Straits Times. Retrieved 21 August 2007.
  16. "KLIA partners with SITA to be the first fully integrated Airport in Asia". Retrieved 21 September 2005.
  17. "KLIA increase WiFi range". CAPA. Retrieved 19 February 2008.
  18. "9 firms shortlisted for KLIA retail expansion project". NST. Retrieved 16 February 2008.
  19. "klia2 receives ICAO nod, first landing". Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  20. "klia2 overview". Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  21. "Be the first 2 visit the new klia2". Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  22. "klia2 Control Tower Is Tallest in the World". Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  23. "About klia2". Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  24. "klia2 opens to public". Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  25. "About gateway@klia2". Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  26. "Public invited to tour and experience klia2 before May 2 opening". Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  27. "klia2 Coming Soon". Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  28. "Flight Check-In at KL Sentral". KLIA Ekspres. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
  29. All Airlines can now offer city check-in in KL Sentral
  30. 30.0 30.1 Geetha Krishnan (9 December 2008). "LCCT international arrival hall ahead of schedule". The Star.
  31. "Annual Report 2013" (Archive). AirAsia. Retrieved on 29 August 2014. p. 33/306. "HEAD OFFICE LCC Terminal, Jalan KLIA S3 Southern Support Zone, KLIA, 64000 Sepang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia"
  32. "AirAsia denies funding issues in moving HQ to klia2" (Archive). The Malaysian Insider. 2 June 2014. Retrieved on 28 August 2014.
  33. http://www.airlive.net/2015/01/news-air-china-has-announced-new-routes.html
  34. http://www.themalaymailonline.com/travel/article/airasia-resumes-kuala-lumpur-hyderabad-route-in-dec
  35. http://airlineroute.net/2015/04/28/ak-jul15/
  36. http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/04/20/15/malaysias-airasia-adds-flights-manila
  37. "AirAsia expands connectivity to India, Indonesia with 3 new routes". The Star Online. 2015-03-01. Retrieved 2015-03-10.
  38. "AirAsia X to fly to Narita 4 times a week | Travel". The Malay Mail Online. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
  39. "ANA to launch services to Kuala Lumpur". All Nippon Airways. 2015-01-21. Retrieved 2015-01-26.
  40. "British Airways resumes daily flights between KL-London in May 2015". The Edge Malaysia. Retrieved 2014-09-17.
  41. https://www.zawya.com/story/Irans_Aseman_Airlines_launches_new_TehranKuala_Lumpur_flight-ZAWYA20141206045713/
  42. 42.0 42.1 "Malaysia Airlines Ends 3 Asian Routes in S15". Airlineroute.net. 20 March 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  43. http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2015/04/18/mas-ends-frankfurt-flights-on-may-29/
  44. "Pakistan International Adds Islamabad - Kuala Lumpur Route from April 2015". Airline Route. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  45. MASkargo network
  46. 46.0 46.1 46.2 46.3 "MAHB Annual Report 2014" (PDF). http://www.malaysiaairports.com.my/. 14 April 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  47. "Kuala Lumpur International". Kiat.net. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  48. "kliaekspres.com". Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  49. "LCCT may become cargo hub when new terminal is up". The Star Online. Retrieved 1 February 2008.
  50. "Fajarbaru wins RM124m KLIA job". Business Times. Retrieved 25 March 2008.
  51. "New LCCT departure hall opens". The Star. 18 March 2009.
  52. 52.0 52.1 "MAHB upgrade KLIA to take in A380". NST. Retrieved 16 August 2006.

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kuala Lumpur International Airport.