Subang Airport redevelopment will not cannibalize KLIA passenger traffic

7 August 2023

The Subang Airport redevelopment will not cannibalize Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s passenger traffic as the former’s terminal will have a limited capacity of eight million passengers a year.

KLIAs Terminal 1 and KLIA Terminal 2 combined have a maximum capacity of 75 million passengers annually.

The New Straits Times learnt that the new airport in Subang, dubbed the Premium Green City Airport, will not be able to expand further after the redevelopment.

Sources said there will be no more land space once the new terminal is built.

“Yes, there will be a shift from KLIA to Subang Airport. There will be some movements in terms of passenger profile and routes. (But) from the onset, the passenger profile that flies out of Subang Airport is different.

“It’s impossible for them (Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) to say that there wouldn’t be a shift but it wouldn’t cannibalise or weaken KLIA’s position as the main airport hub in the country,” one of the sources told the NST.

The sources noted that the Subang Airport Regeneration Plan (SARP) is needed to free up some airline slots and reduce passenger traffic at KLIA.

The aim for KLIA is to attract more foreign full-service and budget carriers to Terminal 1 and Terminal 2.

The two terminals will retain airlines that operate transfer or connecting traffic, which mostly are foreign carriers.

The sources said it is intended for foreign airlines to remain at KLIA although the airline slots at Subang Airport would be opened to them.

It is also learnt that MAHB will prioritise local airlines to operate out of Subang Airport with point-to-point destinations that are less than five hours of flight time from the terminal.

“The intention is that KLIA will focus on connecting or transfer traffic whereas Subang Airport will focus on point-to-point traffic. For example, if a passenger flies from London to Kuala Lumpur and has a connection to Langkawi on the same day, then he’ll be flying out of KLIA.”

“But if he will first spend a few days in Kuala Lumpur, then he may opt to fly to Langkawi out of Subang Airport,” another source said.

It is also believed that MAHB is engaging with the Transport Ministry, Malaysia Aviation Commission (Mavcom) and other stakeholders to plan on the slots, routes and other operational measures at Subang Airport.

Under the SARP, the yearly passenger traffic at the Subang Airport can increase up to five million by 2027 and eight million by 2031.

Currently, the airport – also known as the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah (SAAS) Airport – is handling 1.5 million passengers yearly.

The ground-breaking of the SARP project is expected to be in 2025.

“It’ll be a green airport in a way. The narrow-body aircraft that are allowed to operate there (Subang Airport) are of new generation models, meaning that the engines omit less carbon.”

“There would also be environmentally-friendly initiatives such as the usage of solar panels for energy, electric ground handling vehicles, fuel trucks and in-flight meal trucks. There would also be an EV car park,” the source said.

The source also said that MAHB is regularly engaging with five local commercial airlines, namely the Malaysia Aviation Group, AirAsia, Batik Air, MYAirline and SKS Airways.

When asked if all of the carriers are supporting of the SARP, one of the sources said most of the airlines are excited about the upcoming project.

The SARP has three focus areas, namely the Premium Green City Airport, business aviation and aerospace ecosystem.

However, it will not include the construction of a new runway as there are no land space left to build one.

The runway is currently being shared by Batik Air and Firefly as well as the business aviation airlines, private jets and the military.

MAHB is also believed to be looking at implementing a curfew to the airlines operating out of the SAAS due to its location that is near to residential areas.

The curfew is believed to start from 12am and ends at 6am every day for commercial aircraft operations.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke said in June that the SARP was approved from the Cabinet. The project was announced by him in February.

Source: www.nst.com.my

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