Sultan Ismail Petra Airport

Sultan Ismail Petra Airport
Lapangan Terbang Sultan Ismail Petra
لاڤڠن تربڠ سلطان اسماعيل ڤيترا
IATA: KBR – ICAO: WMKC
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner Government of Malaysia
Operator Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad
Serves Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia
Location Pengkalan Chepa, Kelantan, West Malaysia
Hub for
Time zone MST (UTC+08:00)
Elevation AMSL 16 ft / 5 m
Coordinates 06°09′58″N 102°17′33″E / 6.16611°N 102.29250°ECoordinates: 06°09′58″N 102°17′33″E / 6.16611°N 102.29250°E
Map
WMKC

Location on the east coast of Malaysia

Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
10/28 2,400 7,874 Asphalt
Statistics (2014)
Passenger 1,800,836 (Increase 13.6%)
Airfreight (tonnes) 397 (Increase 121.6%)
Aircraft movements 44,628 (Decrease 11.5%)
Sources: official website[1]
AIP Malaysia[2]

Sultan Ismail Petra Airport (IATA: KBR, ICAO: WMKC) is an airport that operates in Kota Bharu, a city in the state of Kelantan in Malaysia. The airport is named after Ismail Petra of Kelantan, the thirteenth Sultan of Kelantan, who ruled from 1980 to 2010. The present new terminal was officially opened in September 2002. The 12,000 m² airport terminal has three aircraft stands, three aerobridges and is able to handle 1.4 million passengers.The three aerobridges were salvaged from the old Subang Airport and refurbished. The airport offers flights between a total of five domestic destinations from Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia and Firefly and one international destination. In 2012, this made it the busiest airport in the East Coast and 9th by passenger traffic and 3rd in Malaysia by terms of total aircraft movements (take-off and landing). This may include commercial, private, training and military aircraft. The airport handled 1,132,000 passengers, with 64,114 total aircraft movements.[1]

History

The airport is a former RAF Station, RAF Kota Bharu being a former British military airfield that has the dubious honour of being the landing site of the Japanese invasion of Malaya during World War II. The scene of the first Japanese landing in Malaya in 8 December 1941.

After the war, the RAF military airfield was turned into a civilian airport. The passenger terminal was built and was known as Pengkalan Chepa Airport. After the terminal was expanded and a new building was built, it became known as Sultan Ismail Petra Airport, currently known as the old terminal of the Asia Pacific Flight Training flying school. In 1999, the government announced that the Sultan Ismail Petra Airport will be relocated to a new terminal building. The project started in September 2000 and was completed in June 2002 with a total cost of approximately RM55 million.

Relocating to the new building

The new terminal started operating from 12 September 2002. The building of Sultan Ismail Petra Airport, Kota Bharu is synonymous with the Islamic image of the state. This new terminal adopted the Moorish architecture. It has curved archways and is whiter in colour. The airport has a 12,000 square metre terminal with three aircraft stands and the most modern and technically advanced navigational aids. It has three aerobridges were salvaged from the old Subang Airport and refurbished, the terminal can accommodate up to 1.45 million passengers a year.

The new terminal of the airport is equipped with all of the modern facilities and services to meet the requirements of the innumerable travelers flying to and from the airport everyday. The basic services available include information and customer service desk, medical services, wheelchair services for disabled travelers, police services and others. There are also porter services to help travelers with their luggage.

The major facilities that are found in this airport include shuttle and car rental representative counters (Hertz, Avis, Kayak, Expedia and J&W car rental), automated teller machines, currency exchange, gift shops, a KFC restaurant and small eating joints. There are waiting rooms for the convenience of the travelers and one can also find bathrooms specially designed for disabled travelers. The security system is good in the airport so as to ensure the safety of the travellers. Huge screens displaying the flight arrival and departure schedules can also be found in the airport. The Sultan Ismail Petra Airport, Kota Bharu is one of the finest airports in the country providing its services to the large number of travelers. Its facilities are of high standards and this makes traveling hassle free.

Expansion and developments

In the third quarter of 2008, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad built a new hangar, a new apron, new aircraft and helicopter parking bays and made taxiway improvements to cater to the growth of the Asia Pacific Flight Training flying school.

In October 2008, the government announced that it intends to extend the runway to a length of 2,400 m (7,874 ft). The Sultan Ismail Petra Airport serves Kota Bharu in Malaysia.

In May 2010, TRC Synergy Bhd’s unit, Trans Resources Corp Sdn Bhd has secured a RM45.5 million contract to upgrade the Sultan Ismail Petra airport in Kota Bharu. TRC said its unit received the letter of acceptance from Wira Akil Holdings Sdn Bhd. The letter of acceptance from Wira Akil is subsequent to an award being given by the Ministry of Transport to Wira Akil whereby TRC is named as the sub-contractor for the project. The project started on 14 June 2010 and includes the construction of a taxiway, helicopter pads, a meteorological station and instrument landing system (ILS). The airport runway has been lengthened from 1,981 m to 2,400 m, and can accommodate the Airbus A330 and Boeing 737-800. All works are slated for completion by September 2011.

AirAsia have intention to make Sultan Ismail Petra Airport as it's east coast regional hub by introducing more flights to other destinations, such as Singapore, Medan and some other Indochina countries.[3] The airport recently equipped with aircraft refuelling facility in anticipate for such route expansion.

Malaysia Airports is planning for the expansion Sultan Ismail Petra Airport in Kelantan, which has already exceeded its 1.5 million capacity. The building will be expanded to cater to four million passengers with a new multi-storey car park and additional aircraft stands to cope with the expected increase in traffic in the coming decade.

Operating hours

The airport's normal operating hours are between 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. In the event of flight delays, the airport will remain open until the flight has taken off or has been cancelled.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines Destinations
AirAsia Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Kuching
Firefly Johor Bahru, Kuala Lumpur-Subang, Penang
Malaysia Airlines Kuala Lumpur
Malindo Air Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur-Subang, Malacca, Penang

Traffic and statistics

Annual passenger numbers and aircraft statistics[4]
Year
Passengers
handled
Passenger
% Change
Cargo
(tonnes)
Cargo
% Change
Aircraft
Movements
Aircraft
% Change
2003589,950Steady315Steady10,010Steady
2004639,871Increase8.5235Decrease25.411,869Increase 18.6
2005635,397Decrease0.7168Decrease28.511,194Decrease 5.7
2006678,306Increase6.7210Increase25.038,352Increase 242.6
2007759,316Increase12.0163Decrease22.458,996Increase 53.8
2008836,060Increase10.1181Increase11.057,102Decrease 3.2
20091,003,162Increase20.0185Increase2.274,863Increase 31.1
20101,047,755Increase4.4177Decrease4.375,906Increase 1.4
20111,132,345Increase8.1164Decrease7.364,114Decrease 15.5
20121,259,205Increase11.2147Decrease10.450,991Decrease 20.5
20131,585,238Increase25.9179Increase21.850,406Decrease 1.1
20141,800,836Increase 13.6397Increase 121.644,628Decrease 11.5

Statistics

Busiest Flights Out of Sultan Ismail Petra Airport by Frequency
RankDestinationsFrequency (Weekly)
1  Kuala Lumpur (KLIA) 98
2  Selangor, Subang (SZB) 147
3  Penang 21
4  Johor 3
5  Sabah 3
6  Sarawak 3
7  Perak 3
8  Melaka 7

Charter operators

MHS Aviation

Weststar Aviation

Ground transportation

Airport taxi

At the Sultan Ismail Petra airport, there is an airport taxi service which imposes a fixed rate based on the destination's distance from the airport, which is located at the outside of the Arrival Hall. In the city centre, the taxi service located in Taxi Station, Jalan Doktor can be used which is a 20-minute journey (The fare is between RM35 and RM40 as of June 2011).

Bus

Bus that provides transportation to the city centre is also available from the terminal. The bus stop is, however, located outside the terminal building area at the main road side. The airport is located 8 km away from the city centre. In the city centre, the bus station is located at Jalan Pendek. (Fare RM2.00, hourly from 7.00AM to 7.00PM, duration c. 20 – 30 minutes).

At Kota Bharu Central Bus Station, you can take another bus to various destinations within the city centre and the state.

To Perhentian Islands

Sultan Ismail Petra Airport is the closest airport to Perhentian Islands. Located approximately 60 kilometers from Kuala Besut, the main getaway to the islands, tourists can get there with various public transport modes that are readily available at the airport.

To Rantau Panjang and Southern Thailand

Rantau Panjang is the border town to Thailand in Malaysia side. The border town on Thailand side, adjacent to Rantau Panjang, is Sungai Kolok. International border formality is required to get to Southern Thailand.

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sultan Ismail Petra Airport, Kota Bharu at Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad
  2. ↑ at Department of Civil Aviation Malaysia
  3. ↑ http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/AA/Article/
  4. ↑ "MAHB Annual Report 2014" (PDF). http://www.malaysiaairports.com.my/. 14 April 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2015.

External links