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Penang International Airport

Penang International Airport (PIA) (IATA: PEN, ICAO: WMKP) is an international airport in George Town, the capital city of the Malaysian state of Penang. The airport is located at the southeastern tip of Penang Island, 16 km (9.9 mi) south of the city centre, and serves the country's second largest conurbation.[1]

As the main gateway into northwestern Malaysia, PIA is the third busiest airport in Malaysia in terms of passenger traffic, recording 8.3 million tourist arrivals in 2019 alone.[2] It is also the second busiest in the country by cargo handled and the highest in terms of export value, with RM385 billion in exports in 2020. Additionally, the airport is the main hub for local budget airline Firefly and one of AirAsia's operating bases.[3]

History

Aerial view of the Penang International Airport, with the skyline of the Bayan Lepas suburb forming the background.
Entrance of the Penang International Airport terminal, c. 2012

The airport, then named Bayan Lepas International Airport, was completed in 1935, when Penang was part of the British crown colony of the Straits Settlements.[4]

In the 1970s, a major expansion of the airport was carried out, during which a terminal building of Minangkabau architecture was built and the runway extended to accommodate Boeing 747s, then the largest passenger jet aircraft. Upon the completion of the expansion works in 1979, the airport was renamed Penang International Airport.[4]

The airport became a source of contention between the Penang state government and the federal government in the 2010s, as transportation infrastructure throughout Malaysia falls under the purview of the latter. Calls by the Penang state government to expand PIA largely went unheeded, even though the airport has exceeded its maximum capacity of 6.5 million passengers.[5] It was not until 2017 when the federal authorities finally announced plans to expand PIA to accommodate 12 million passengers per year by 2029.[6][7]

While the planned expansion met with delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2023, the federal Ministry of Transport approved an allocation of RM93 million to facilitate land acquisition and infrastructure development for the airport's expansion.[8]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

1: This flight operates with a stop at Phuket. However, the airline has no traffic rights to transport passengers solely between Penang and Phuket.

Cargo

Operational statistics

PIA is the third busiest airport in the country in terms of passenger traffic after Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA).[31] The airport experienced its peak passenger traffic of 8.3 million in 2019, surpassing its annual capacity of 6.5 million passengers, before the outbreak of COVID-19 caused global disruptions in air travel.[2][32] In 2022, following the relaxation of travel restrictions, PIA witnessed a significant rebound in passenger traffic, recording nearly 4.3 million passengers throughout the year compared to 542,681 in 2021.[31][33]

The PIA–KLIA route is one of the busiest air corridors in Malaysia, having flown 2.2 million passengers in 2019. Additionally, the PIA–Changi corridor is estimated to be the third busiest among Malaysia's ASEAN routes, with around 300,000 passengers flown throughout 2022.[34]

While it processes the second largest cargo tonnage after KLIA, in terms of export value, PIA's is the highest of all Malaysian airports, with RM385 billion worth of exports passing through PIA in 2022 alone.[31][35]

Ground transportation

Rapid Penang has provided four bus routes to and from Penang International Airport, connecting the airport with various parts of George Town.[37]

Incidents

References

  1. ^ WMKP – PENANG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT at Department of Civil Aviation Malaysia
  2. ^ a b c "Malaysia Airports: Airports Statistics 2020" (PDF). Malaysia Airports.
  3. ^ "AirAsia to turn Penang into fourth hub in Malaysia". The Star. 8 July 2009. [dead link]
  4. ^ a b "Handy Penang airport information from Skyscanner". www.skyscanner.co.in. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  5. ^ "Guan Eng demands Putrajaya approve Penang International Airport expansion now". 1 December 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  6. ^ "Penang International Airport expansion to start soon". The Edge Markets. 13 February 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  7. ^ Opalyn Mok (12 February 2018). "Expansion project to double Penang airport capacity to 12 million passengers, says council head". Malay Mail.
  8. ^ Choy, Nyen Yiau (11 October 2023). "Loke: Govt has approved RM93 mil allocation for Penang Airport expansion". The Edge. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  9. ^ "AirAsia resumes Penang – Hong Kong service from August 2023". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  10. ^ "Batik Air adds Banda Aceh – Penang service from Dec 2022". AeroRoutes. 28 November 2022.
  11. ^ "BATIK AIR MALAYSIA PLANS PENANG – JAKARTA SERVICE IN 4Q24". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Batik Air to resume Subang to Penang route from Aug 1". malaymail.com. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  13. ^ "China Southern Feb/Mar 2023 SE Asia Service Resumptions". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  14. ^ "Firefly Penang – Bangkok service changes from May 2024". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  15. ^ a b c "Firefly reinstates jet ops from Penang with direct flights to Johor Bahru, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu". The Edge Markets.
  16. ^ "Firefly begins Kuala Lumpur - Penang service from mid-June 2024". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  17. ^ "Firefly = Penang-Kualanamu daily flight on Firefly's 737".
  18. ^ "Firefly to launch flights from Penang to Changi Airport on March 26". The Straits Times. 3 March 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  19. ^ "FIREFLY SCHEDULES CHONGQING CHARTERS FROM JULY 2024". Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  20. ^ "flydubai launches daily service to Langkawi and Penang in Malaysia".
  21. ^ "Juneyao Airlines NS 24 short-haul international additions". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  22. ^ "Qatar Airways Resumes Flights To Penang".
  23. ^ "SHANGHAI AIRLINES ADDS PENANG SERVICE IN AUGUST 2024". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  24. ^ "Shenzhen Airlines resumes Penang service from late-July 2024". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  25. ^ "Starlux Airlines: Taiwan's AWESOME New Airline". One Mile at a Time. 7 October 2019.
  26. ^ Töre, Özgür (15 March 2022). "AirAsia Resumes Flights from Malaysia to Thailand". ftnNews. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  27. ^ "Thai Lion Air adds Penang service from April 2024". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  28. ^ "XIAMEN AIRLINES ADDS XIAMEN – PENANG FROM LATE-SEP 2023".
  29. ^ "9月28日起，厦门-槟城航班恢复至每周3班！" (in Chinese).
  30. ^ "Qatar Airways Cargo Resumes Penang Passenger Freighter Service". Aviation Source. 8 February 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  31. ^ a b c d "Statistic of Aviation Transport". Ministry of Transport. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  32. ^ "Annual Report 2022" (PDF). Malaysia Airports.
  33. ^ "Penang tourism sector sees resilient rebound after borders open". The Sun. 8 February 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  34. ^ "MALAYSIAN AVIATION INDUSTRY OUTLOOK DECEMBER 2022" (PDF). Malaysian Aviation Commission. December 2022.
  35. ^ "Final External Trade Statistics 2023". Department of Statistics Malaysia: 89. July 2023.
  36. ^ "Tourism" (PDF). Penang state government.
  37. ^ "Rapid Penang - Bus". MyRapid. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  38. ^ Bayu Bramasta, Dandy (28 March 2021). "Drama Pembajakan Pesawat DC 9 "Woyla" Garuda Indonesia". Kompas. Retrieved 18 January 2024.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Penang International Airport.