Malacca International Airport Explained

Malacca International Airport
Nativename:Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Melaka
Iata:MKZ
Icao:WMKM
Type:Public
Owner:Khazanah Nasional
Operator:Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad
City-Served:Malacca, Malaysia
Location:Batu Berendam, Malacca, Malaysia
Timezone:MST
Elevation-F:40
Coordinates:2.2631°N 102.2525°W
Image Map Caption:Malacca state in Peninsular Malaysia, Malaysia
Pushpin Map:Malaysia West#Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Batu Berendam, Malacca, Peninsular Malaysia
Pushpin Label: MKZ /WMKM
Metric-Rwy:y
R1-Number:03/21
R1-Length-M:2,135
R1-Surface:Asphalt
Stat-Year:2023
Stat1-Header:Passenger
Stat1-Data:23,489 (24.8%)
Stat2-Header:Airfreight (tonnes)
Stat2-Data:0.1 (41.8%)
Stat3-Header:Aircraft movements
Stat3-Data:41,891 (2.6%)
Footnotes:Source: official web site[1]
AIP Malaysia[2]

Malacca International Airport (formerly known as Batu Berendam Airport) is an airport located in Batu Berendam, Malacca, Malaysia. The airport serves the state of Malacca, as well as northern Johor and Negeri Sembilan. The 7000m2 terminal complex is equipped with international-standard amenities that can handle 1.5 million passengers annually. The airport's 2135m runway allows Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 operations.

History

The construction of the airport was approved in April 1950 and was expected to be completed within a year.[3]

The airport, which occupies 141acres of land, was completed in August 1952 at a cost of $500,000.[4] The first plane landed at the airport the following month.[5] The Dakota aircraft of Malayan Airways arrive at the airport four times a week.[6]

The airport and particularly its control tower bears historical significance as it was the same tower which guided the plane of Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, to land from London on 20 February 1956. It was in Malacca that Tunku announced the date for the independence of then Malaya from the United Kingdom. Considering the historical nature of this control tower, the Chief Minister of Malacca, Mohd Ali Rustam is attempting to save the tower, by either relocating it, or by changing plans to incorporate the tower.[7]

Between 2008 and 2014, the airport was served by Sky Aviation which operated flights from Pekanbaru five times per week.[8] Flights ceased in 2014 when Sky Aviation suspended all operations.

"The state government is also discussing with Firefly and AirAsia to serve various routes via the Malacca Airport".[9]

Malaysia's hybrid airline, Malindo Air, launched four-weekly flights from the Malacca Airport to Penang, Malaysia, and Pekanbaru, Indonesia, on 4 November 2014.

In 2016, Indonesia's hybrid airline, XpressAir launched four-weekly flights from the Malacca Airport to Pekanbaru, Indonesia, on 29 April 2016. China Southern Airlines launched an inaugural charter flight from Malacca Airport to Guangzhou, China, on 29 September 2016. By the end of 2016, China Southern Airlines stopped charter flights to Malacca.

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

AirAsia group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said he had discussed with Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai in Putrajaya on 29 June 2016 for the potential of turning the Malacca Airport into a low-cost terminal. Fernandes said AirAsia wanted to use the Malacca Airport but had been unable to convince MAHB to allow AirAsia to use the airport.[10]

AirAsia marked the arrival of its inaugural flight from Penang to the historical state of Malacca on 1 July 2019.[11]

In September 2023, all commercial operations had ceased, with airlines citing lack of demand and high operational costs.[12] The state government was subsequently offering incentives in order to woo back airlines to use the airport, yet to date to no avail.[13]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

The following list consists of the regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Malacca International Airport .

Ground Transportation

The airport is served by a Local Bus hourly from Melaka Sentral. Taxi and e-hailing car are also available at the airport.

New terminal

Construction of a new terminal started on 1 April 2006. The runway was upgraded from 1372x, to 2045x and is now 2135x, allowing Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 aircraft to take off. The terminal complex was replaced by a new 7000m2 terminal equipped with international-standard amenities. The control tower was replaced and complemented with advanced aeronautical devices. Both ends of the runway now contain facilities to guide night landing and better assure safety in bad weather conditions.

In May 2009, the new terminal was officially opened. The new terminal could handle 1.5 million passengers annually as opposed to the 30,000 of the old terminal. The new airport terminal was officiated by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on 4 February 2010.

Facilities

APR-Aerospace Engineering has built a hangar in Malacca Airport which can accommodate Boeing 737 or Airbus A320 for Aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services, Aircraft modification and retrofits, Aircraft technical handling and ground support services, Aircraft spare support and pooling, Technical training on aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul and Structured On-the-Job Training for APR-ATC's TAME program. The hangar was completed in April 2016.

The major facilities that are found in this airport include taxi services, gift shops, cafe, duty-free outlets, conference rooms, multi-purpose meeting and event centre, wheelchair service, staff assistance and free WiFi internet access.

Malacca Airport is one of the seven airports in Malaysia that provide e-Visa facilities for Chinese tourists from September 2016 onwards.

Expansion and developments

In August 2015, Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, announced that the federal government is mulling a proposal to expand Malacca Airport, particularly in conjunction with the recent Cabinet endorsement of the southern state's "twin state" status with China's Guangdong city. Malacca Airport will upgrade its runway, apron, aerobridge and taxiway.

In October 2016, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said Malacca Airport in Batu Berendam may be relocated to accommodate larger aircraft like the Boeing 777. Liow said a decision will be reached by the end of 2016 whether to move the airport to another location or to keep the airport at its present site based on the recommendation from an aviation consultant.[14]

On 30 January 2017, State Transport, Project Rehabilitation and International Trade Committee chairman Datuk Lim Ban Hong said the runway of the state airport will be extended to 2,500 metres (m) following the decision by the Federal Government to extend the runway in a bid to accommodate larger aircraft without the need for land acquisitions while the work is expected to be completed in a short span of time. The expansion of Malacca Airport will be completed in 2019.

On 27 November 2017, Malacca CM Idris Haron said Malacca Airport is expected to upgrade next year (2018) with an upgrade cost of RM74 million (under RMKe-11). The runway will be upgraded from 2135 m to 2665 m and a taxiway will be built and the apron will be expanded as well.

On 20 September 2018, Malacca CM Adly Zahari announced that Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) will introduce a five-year rebate on the passenger service charge (PSC) for flights from Malacca Airport (MKZ). Aside from the rebates, Adly said airline companies operating from MKZ will also be exempted from paying landing charges for a year. According to MAHB, the incentives were introduced as part of the group's efforts in working with the state government and airlines to promote tourism in the country.

Traffic and statistics

Annual passenger numbers and aircraft statistics
YearPassengers
handled
Passenger
% change
Cargo
(metric tonnes)
Cargo
% change
Aircraft
movements
Aircraft
% change
200918,57612754,160
201021,687 16.7144 13.460,811 12.3
201121,261 2.0139 3.553,702 11.7
201234,352 61.6195 40.348,881 9.0
201321,637 37.0N/A36,978 24.4
201414,178 58.7N/A23,747 35.8
201569,710 391.7N/A19,800 16.6
201658,703 15.8N/A35,252 78.0
201762,076 5.8N/A37,867 7.4
201852,493 15.4N/A33,333 12.0
2019135,569 158.30.152,072 56.2
202029,424 78.3N/A37,998 27.0
20210 100.0N/A27,256 28.3
202218,8210.143,022 57.8
202323,489 24.80.1 41.841,891 2.6
Source: Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad[15] [16]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.malaysiaairports.com.my/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5&Itemid=64 Malacca International Airport
  2. https://aip.caam.gov.my/aip%20pdf/AD/AD2/WMKM/WMKM-Malacca%20Airport.pdf WMKM – Malacca
  3. News: Malacca Airport Proposal Soon . 1 April 2024 . The Straits Times . 20 April 1950.
  4. News: Untitled . 1 April 2024 . Singapore Standard . 26 August 1952.
  5. News: 1952 Saw the Turn of Malaya's Red Tide . 1 April 2024 . The Singapore Free Press . 31 December 1952.
  6. News: New Air Service Via Malacca . 1 April 2024 . Sunday Standard . 20 July 1952.
  7. http://thestaronline.com/news/story.asp?file=/2007/8/30/nation/18734666&sec=nation "Malacca CM in bid to save airport tower"
  8. https://web.archive.org/web/20080831223016/http://www.mohdalirustam.com/?p=371 "Air Asia di Melaka"
  9. News: Murali . R.S.N. . Expansion for Malacca airport . 1 April 2024 . The Star . 9 November 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221121064330/https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2014/11/09/expansion-for-malacca-airport-more-facilities-to-be-built-to-lure-international-and-domestic-flights . 21 November 2022.
  10. News: AirAsia to invest RM20mil to promote klia2 . 1 April 2024 . The Star . 29 June 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231219200236/http://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2016/06/29/airasia-to-invest-rm20mil-to-promote-klia2/ . 19 December 2023.
  11. News: AirAsia welcomes inaugural flight to Melaka . 1 April 2024 . Airasia Newsroom . 1 July 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230208162416/https://newsroom.airasia.com/news/2019/7/1/airasia-welcomes-inaugural-flight-to-melaka . 8 February 2023.
  12. News: Airlines stopped using Melaka airport in absence of written agreements, says exco man . 1 April 2024 . The Star . 18 September 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240221071659/https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2023/09/18/airlines-stopped-using-melaka-airport-in-absence-of-written-agreements-says-exco-man . 21 February 2024.
  13. News: 3 March 2024 . Airlines not keen to operate at Melaka airport despite incentives, says exco . 1 April 2024 . The Star . 25 October 2023 . live . 5 March 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240305213846/https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2023/10/25/airlines-not-keen-to-operate-at-melaka-airport-despite-incentives-says-exco.
  14. Web site: Liow: Status of Malacca airport to be known by year-end | Malay Mail. 24 June 2022 .
  15. Web site: Malaysia Airports: Airports Statistics 2020 . malaysiaairports. 2 April 2021 . 2 May 2024.
  16. Web site: Malaysia Airports: Airports Statistics 2023 . malaysiaairports. 15 April 2024 . 2 May 2024.