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 km 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 | |||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
Owner | Government of Malaysia | ||||||||||
Operator | Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) | ||||||||||
Serves | Perak, Malaysia | ||||||||||
Location | Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia | ||||||||||
Time zone | MST (UTC+08:00) | ||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 130 ft / 40 m | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 04°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 | |||||||||||
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Statistics (2018) | |||||||||||
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History
Originating as a small airfield for Fokker aircraft, eventually being expanded so that jet operations could be accommodated. The then new airport terminal was made ready for the visit by Queen Elizabeth II to the Royal Town of Kuala Kangsar in 1989. 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.[3]
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 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.[4]
Unfortunately the new runway was left to be restricted to turboprop airliners only, due to a number of potholes.[5] Several months later, the issue was resolved,[6] only to then have a repeated issue.[7] 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.[8] Other airlines based in China and Indonesia have also expressed interest.[9]
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 km to 2.5 km
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Airlines | Destinations |
---|---|
AirAsia | Johor Bahru,[10][11][12][13] Langkawi,[14] Singapore |
Malindo Air | Johor Bahru[15] |
Scoot | Singapore |
Traffic and statistics
handled |
% change |
(tonnes) |
% change |
movements |
% change | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | 115,286 | 498 | 1,572 | 11.88 | ||
2004 | 103,123 | 10.6 | 735 | 47.6 | 1,402 | 10.84 |
2005 | 74,451 | 27.8 | 437 | 40.5 | 1,145 | 18.31 |
2006 | 64,711 | 13.1 | 357 | 18.3 | 954 | 16.72 |
2007 | 814 | 98.8 | 10 | 97.2 | 12 | 98.73 |
2008 | 5,376 | 560.4 | 0 | 100 | 183 | 14252 |
2009 | 21,937 | 308.0 | 0 | 384 | 109.85 | |
2010 | 48,508 | 121.1 | 0 | 844 | 119.84 | |
2011 | 71,169 | 46.7 | 0 | 1,536 | 82.07 | |
2012 | 73,354 | 3.1 | 34 | 167.4 | 1,515 | 1.49 |
2013 | 74,320 | 1.3 | 403 | 1091.4 | 1,464 | 3.45 |
2014 | 98,768 | 32.9 | 296 | 26.6 | 17,682 | 1107.888 |
2015 | 222,606 | 125.4 | 318 | 7.2 | 19,956 | 12.98 |
2016 | 269,696 | 21.2 | 178 | 44.1 | 14,137 | 29.28 |
2017 | 274,146 | 1.7 | 105 | 40.8 | 10,910 | 22.89 |
2018 | 315,673 | 15.1 | 142 | 35.1 | 10,369 | 5.0 |
Source: Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad[16] |
References
- Sultan Azlan Shah Airport at Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad
- WMKI – IPOH/IPOH SULTAN AZLAN SHAH at Department of Civil Aviation Malaysia
- What is happening to Ipoh Airport? | Ipoh Echo (Archives)
- Zambry Checks Out Ipoh Airport | Ipoh Echo (Archives). Ipoh Echo (15 January 2013).
- 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.
- Ipoh airport ready to take on bigger aircraft | The Malay Mail Online. Ipoh airport ready to take on bigger aircraft (10 July 2014).
- Tigerair plans to expand network in Malaysia – Business News. The Star (4 July 2013).
- Ipoh airport eyeing flights from Xiamen – Nation. The Star (23 May 2013).
- https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/airasia-start-jbalor-setar-jbipoh-flights-oct-1
- https://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/279721/airasia-adds-new-domestic-routes-from-johor-bahru-from-oct-2018/
- https://www.feedme.com.my/airasia-launches-ipoh-johor-bahru-route-more-connections-to-perak-soon/
- https://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/btn20060105115924331/
- Liu, Jim. "AirAsia 4Q20 Malaysia domestic network additions". Routesonline. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
- https://www.anna.aero/2014/10/22/malindo-air-adds-two-new-routes-from-ipoh/
- "Malaysia Airports: Airports Statistics 2018" (PDF). malaysiaairports. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sultan Azlan Shah Airport. |
- Sultan Azlan Shah Airport, Ipoh at Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad
- Location Map of Sultan Azlah Shah Airport
- Current weather for WMKI at NOAA/NWS
- Accident history for IPH at Aviation Safety Network
- New Ipoh Airport Strategy,NST Online,17/03/2010