Sultan Azlan Shah Airport

Sultan Azlan Shah Airport
Lapangan Terbang Sultan Azlan Shah
IATA: IPH – ICAO: WMKI
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner Government of Malaysia
Operator Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB)
Serves Perak, Malaysia
Location Ipoh, Perak, West Malaysia
Time zone MST (UTC+08:00)
Elevation AMSL 130 ft / 40 m
Coordinates 04°34′09″N 101°05′35″E / 4.56917°N 101.09306°ECoordinates: 04°34′09″N 101°05′35″E / 4.56917°N 101.09306°E
Map
WMKI

Location in West Malaysia

Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
04/22 2,000 6,562 Asphalt
Statistics (2014)
Passenger 98,768 (Increase 32.9%)
Airfreight (tonnes) 296 (Decrease 26.6%)
Aircraft movements 17,682 (Increase 1,107.8%)
Source: official web site[1]
AIP Malaysia[2]

Sultan Azlan Shah Airport (IATA: IPH, ICAO: WMKI) is an airport that serves Ipoh, a city in the state of Perak in Malaysia. It is located 6 km away from the city center.

History

Originally a small Fokker airfield, it steadily expanded to accommodate jet operations. The then new airport terminal was readied in time for Queen Elizabeth II's visit to the Royal Town of Kuala Kangsar in 1989. The airport then was bustling with passengers when Malaysia Airlines was operating from Subang. When the North-South Expressway opened, many people started using cars and Malaysia Airlines followed by Air Asia stopped their services, turning the airport into a white elephant. Since the introduction of the electric trains which go right into the city centre of Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh Airport had to seriously reconsider its strategy.[3] The runway was extended to 2,000 meters yet declared unsafe on Dec 2013 as there were potholes, so only propeller planes could land.[4] On the 10th July, the sinkhole problem was fixed, and Sultan Azlan Shah Airport can now handle larger aircraft and has a longer runway. [5]

Airlines and destinations

Airlines Destinations
Firefly Johor Bahru, Singapore
Malindo Air Johor Bahru, Medan, Kota Bharu
Sriwijaya Air Medan
Tigerair Singapore (begins 29 May 2015)[6]

Future

The government realised that the airport could no longer be extended due to its location near residential areas. The Government then planned a new airport in Seri Iskandar. In late 2008, they replanned it to be located in Batang Padang, near Tapah. They discussed that Firefly and AirAsia will start operations there. The site area is 1,600 ha.

There was also another plan to make Ipoh as a feeder airport to other regions, as it couldn't compete with other airports such as Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Penang International Airport.

In 2013, Tigerair expressed interest in expanding their routes to Sultan Azlan Shah Airport.[7] Officials of Xiamen Airlines and airlines in Medan have also indicated interest in flying to Ipoh.[8]

Airport expansion

There was an upgrade that was started in April 2011 and was completed in November 2012. The upgrade included extending the runway by 200m and the apron to accommodate the B737 and A320 aircraft.The old terminal was demolished and a new modern terminal was constructed. Among the features of the new terminal includes wider and more spacious departure and arrival halls, full air-conditioning throughout the terminal for the comfort of passengers and increased capacity of the terminal.[9]

Traffic and statistics

Annual passenger numbers and aircraft statistics[10]
Year
Passengers
handled
Passenger
% Change
Cargo
(tonnes)
Cargo
% Change
Aircraft
Movements
Aircraft
% Change
2003115,286Steady498Steady1,572Steady
2004103,123Decrease10.6735Increase47.61,402Decrease 10.8
200574,451Decrease27.8437Decrease40.51,145Decrease 18.3
200664,711Decrease13.1357Decrease18.3954Decrease 16.7
2007814Decrease98.810Decrease97.212Decrease 98.7
20085,376Increase560.40Decrease100183Increase 1425
200921,937Increase308.00Steady384Increase 109.8
201048,508Increase121.10Steady844Increase 119.8
201171,169Increase46.70Steady1,536Increase 82.0
201273,354Increase3.134Increase167.41,515Decrease 1.4
201374,320Increase1.3403Increase1091.41,464Decrease 3.4
201498,768Increase 32.9296Decrease 26.617,682Increase 1107.8

References

  1. ↑ Sultan Azlan Shah Airport at Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad
  2. ↑ WMKI – IPOH/IPOH SULTAN AZLAN SHAH at Department of Civil Aviation Malaysia
  3. ↑ What is happening to Ipoh Airport? | Ipoh Echo (Archives). Ipoh Echo (1 May 2011).
  4. ↑ Malaysian, The. (6 April 2014) RM45 million wasted in Ipoh airport upgrade as potholes prevent bigger aircraft landings – MSN Malaysia News. News.malaysia.msn.com.
  5. ↑ Ipoh airport ready to take on bigger aircraft | The Malay Mail Online. Ipoh airport ready to take on bigger aircraft (10 July 2014).
  6. ↑ http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/tigerair-to-launch-singapore-ipoh-flights-from-may-29
  7. ↑ Tigerair plans to expand network in Malaysia – Business News. The Star (4 July 2013).
  8. ↑ Ipoh airport eyeing flights from Xiamen – Nation. The Star (23 May 2013).
  9. ↑ Zambry Checks Out Ipoh Airport | Ipoh Echo (Archives). Ipoh Echo (15 January 2013).
  10. ↑ "MAHB Annual Report 2014" (PDF). http://www.malaysiaairports.com.my/. 14 April 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2015.

External links