Bigger airport for Langkawi

The Langkawi International Airport will soon be upgraded at a cost of RM89mil. — Photo courtesy of mygola.com.

LANGKAWI International Airport will see a RM89mil expansion and upgrade to meet the growing number of passengers. Targeted to be finished by next August, the works will be divided into two phases.

Kedah Transport Committee chairman Datuk Tajul Urus Mat Zain (BN – Tanjung Dawai) said, under phase one, the parking area and facilities would be upgraded.

He said phase two would see the upgrading of the airport’s arrival area, commercial section, driveway of the main terminal, toilets and surau.

“The RM89mil allocation had been approved by the National Economic Council, chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on June 5.

“Works for the first phase are expected to start on Sept 1 and scheduled for completion by Oct 15.

“The tender process of the first phase opened on July 24 and closed on Aug 9.

“Eighteen companies took part in the tender process,” he said at the Kedah state assembly sitting in Alor Setar, yesterday.

He added that work on the second phase would begin on Oct 15 and is expected to be fully completed by next Aug 31.

In replying to a question by Nor Saidi Nanyan (BN – Kuah), Tajul said as of July 31, the airport saw 278 weekly direct flights mainly by Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, Malindo Air, Firefly, Tiger Air and China Southern Airlines, an increase of 22.4% compared to last year.

He said Langkawi Development Authority was working closely with Scoot Airlines (Singapore), Happy Air (Thailand), Tuifly Airlines (Germany), Finnair (Finland), Air India, Qatar Airways and Emirates Airlines to have them fly into Langkawi with specially chartered flights.

He said Langkawi saw 24 chartered flights flying to the island in 2012. In 2016, it recorded 77 chartered flights. As of July 31, the airport already saw 23 chartered flights this year.

“There are now international routes to Langkawi International Airport from Singapore and China with the latest by China Southern Airlines, from Guangzhou to Langkawi.

“AirAsia is also planning to increase its frequency from Shenzen to Langkawi,” he said.

The airport was voted one of the top three by Airport Council International for the Airport Service Quality Award 2016 for sizes under the two to five million passengers per annum category, based on passenger feedback.

It was reported that it handled 2.7 million passenger movements in 2016, a 13.6 per cent growth from 2015.

Source: The Star | Community | 17 August 2017