Sultan Azlan Shah Airport

Sultan Azlan Shah Airport (IATA: IPH, ICAO: WMKI) is an airport that serves Ipoh, a city in the state of Perak, Malaysia. It is located 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) away from the city centre. Sultan Azlan Shah Airport has been ranked as the seventh busiest airport in Malaysia.

Sultan Azlan Shah Airport

Lapangan Terbang Sultan Azlan Shah
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerKhazanah Nasional
OperatorMalaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB)
ServesIpoh and southern Perak, Malaysia
LocationIpoh, Perak, Malaysia
Time zoneMST (UTC+08:00)
Elevation AMSL130 ft / 40 m
Coordinates04°34′09″N 101°05′35″E
Maps

Perak State in Malaysia
IPH/WMKI
IPH/WMKI
IPH/WMKI (Peninsular Malaysia)
IPH/WMKI
IPH/WMKI (Malaysia)
IPH/WMKI
IPH/WMKI (Southeast Asia)
IPH/WMKI
IPH/WMKI (Asia)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
04/22 2,000 6,562 Asphalt
Statistics (2020)
Passenger100,585 ( 78.0%)
Airfreight (tonnes)0 ()
Aircraft movements15,511 ( 27.5%)
Source: official web site[1]
AIP Malaysia[2]

History

The airport was planned to be built in 1983 under the Fourth Malaysia Plan.[3]

Up until the airport expansion, the airport could only accommodate Fokker aircraft.[4]

A new airport terminal was planned in late 1988,[5] costing RM 35 million,[4] along with improvements to the airport to cater to the increasing air traffic, [5] including runaway extensions to accommodate Boeing 737 aircraft which was completed in August 1989.[5] The terminal was expected to be operational by mid-September the same year.[4]

The airport had then been used by many passengers (somewhat due to Malaysia Airlines serving the city and still being based in Subang).

Once the North-South Expressway opened, many people opted to use other methods rather than the often more expensive air travel; as a consequence of the lack of demand, Malaysia Airlines and later AirAsia withdrew their services. Following the introduction of electric trains having a direct link to Kuala Lumpur city centre, Malaysia Airports were forced to reconsider the financial viability of the site.[6]

In the hopes of renewing the airport for use by larger airlines, a new and 'modern' terminal building and an extended runway were constructed at a cost of RM45 million. The runway length of 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) was so that larger aircraft like the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 family could land and take off. The key features of the new terminal were a larger and more spacious departure and arrival halls, full air-conditioning in the terminal, and increased passenger capacity.[7]

The new runway was left to be restricted to turboprop airliners only, due to a number of potholes.[8] Several months later, the issue was resolved,[9] only to then have a repeated issue.[10] Since then, the runway has been safe and used daily.

Malindo Air started a new service to Medan in 2018.

AirAsia resumed services from Johor Bahru to Ipoh in October 2018.

In December 2018, AirAsia launched services to Singapore from Ipoh.

Future

Upon the realisation by the Malaysian Government that the airport was unable to continue to expand (due to being surrounded by residential areas), there have been suggestions that sites further away from the city centre, in either Seri Iskandar or Batang Padang near Tapah. However, there have been no such actions in the subsequent years.

An alternative plan had been considered to utilise Ipoh as a feeder airport, as the airport was unable to compete with the larger and more established airports in Penang and Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Several airlines have mentioned their desire to begin serving the airport, but only plans by Tigerair (now Scoot) have materialised.[11] Other airlines based in China and Indonesia have also expressed interest.[12]

In March 2017, the Perak state government announced that the airport's operators would be upgrading the terminal so that there would be more space for passengers.

Next year it is expected that the Perak state government will improve the airport and extend the runway from 2 to 2.5 kilometres (1.2 to 1.6 mi).

Airlines and destinations

Passenger
AirlinesDestinations
AirAsia Johor Bahru,[13][14][15][16] Singapore[17]
Scoot Singapore

Traffic and statistics
Annual passenger numbers and aircraft statistics
Year
Passengers
handled
Passenger
% change
Cargo
(tonnes)
Cargo
% change
Aircraft
movements
Aircraft
% change
2003115,2864981,57211.88
2004103,12310.673547.61,402 10.84
200574,45127.843740.51,145 18.31
200664,71113.135718.3954 16.72
200781498.81097.212 98.73
20085,376560.40100183 14252
200921,937308.00384 109.85
201048,508121.10844 119.84
201171,16946.701,536 82.07
201273,3543.134167.41,515 1.49
201374,3201.34031091.41,464 3.45
201498,768 32.9296 26.617,682 1107.888
2015222,606 125.4318 7.219,956 12.98
2016269,696 21.2178 44.114,137 29.28
2017274,146 1.7105 40.810,910 22.89
2018315,673 15.1142 35.110,369 5.0
2019457,231 44.8012,170 17.4
2020100,585 78.0015,511 27.5
202135,145 65.1016,658 12.7
2022334,165 850.8025,595 53.6
2023517,160 54.8025,181 1.6
Source: Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad[18]
Busiest international flights out of Sultan Azlan Shah Airport by frequency
RankDestinationsFrequency (weekly)Airlines Note
1 Singapore 28 Scoot, Airasia
Busiest domestic routes out of Sultan Azlan Shah Airport by frequency
RankDestinationsFrequency (weekly)Airlines Note
1 Johor Bahru, Johor 9 Airasia

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. "$2.4 b master plan to develop airports". The Straits Times. 20 May 1983. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  4. "Ipoh's new airport terminal to be ready next month". The Straits Times. 19 August 1989. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  5. "Ipoh airport to be improved". The Straits Times. 30 October 1988. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  6. "What is happening to Ipoh Airport? | Ipoh Echo (Archives)".
  7. Zambry Checks Out Ipoh Airport | Ipoh Echo (Archives). Ipoh Echo (15 January 2013).
  8. 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.
  9. Ipoh airport ready to take on bigger aircraft | The Malay Mail Online. Ipoh airport ready to take on bigger aircraft (10 July 2014).
  10. "Ipoh airport shut down after sinkhole appears in runway | New Straits Times". 5 May 2017.
  11. Tigerair plans to expand network in Malaysia – Business News. The Star (4 July 2013).
  12. Ipoh airport eyeing flights from Xiamen – Nation. The Star (23 May 2013).
  13. "AirAsia to start JB-Alor Setar, JB-Ipoh flights from Oct 1". 18 July 2018.
  14. "AirAsia adds new domestic routes from Johor Bahru from Oct 2018".
  15. "AirAsia Launches Ipoh-Johor Bahru Route, More Connections to Perak Soon". 13 July 2018. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020.
  16. "Johor route for AirAsia | News | Breaking Travel News".
  17. "AirAsia to reinstate five more routes connecting Singapore and Malaysia". AirAsia. 29 March 2022.
  18. "Malaysia Airports: Airports Statistics 2020" (PDF). Malaysia Airports. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
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