By Sharen Kaur
Published in NST on July 2, 2013
Published in NST on July 2, 2013
FLYING STEADILY: Rising connectivity and flight frequency to help surpass capacity, says MAHB
PASSENGER traffic at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang, which celebrated its 15th anniversary on June 28, will surpass its 40 million capacity by year-end.
Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) expects KLIA to handle 43 million passengers this year, helped by airlines’ rising connectivity and flight frequency.
MAHB senior general manager for operations Datuk Azmi Murad said growth will also come from new airlines flying to KLIA.
He said the airport’s passenger traffic has been on a steady rise since its opening in 1998 and expects the momentum to continue.
Its passenger volume had risen from 14 million in 1998 to 39.8 million last year, almost reaching its full capacity of 40 million.
The KLIA, which includes the main terminal building and the low-cost carrier terminal, now has 63 airlines flying to 114 destinations.
This year alone, five new airlines have come on stream, namely Thai Smile, Malindo Air, Air France, Turkish Airlines and Philippine Airlines.
MAHB is also anticipating two new airlines between September and December.
“They have confirmed their plan to fly to KLIA. Based on the growth rate at KLIA in the past six months, we believe the 43-million passenger target is easily achievable ... if not, more,” Azmi said yesterday.
In the first six months of 2013, KLIA passenger volume grew nine per cent to 21 million from 19.3 million in the same period last year.
Based on MAHB’s statistics, aircraft movement at the KLIA from January to June this year was 128,731, compared with 114,632 in the first six months of 2012.
Cargo volume rose to 277.1 kg for the period under review from 271.1 million kg.
Meanwhile, Azmi said MAHB will hold discussions with Kuala Lumpur International Airport (klia2) contractors that have been slapped with liquidated and ascertained damages (LAD) for the project delay.
One of the contractors is UEM-Bina Puri JV, which has yet to complete the klia2 main terminal which had been slated for June 28 opening after missing earlier deadlines.
“We will hold discussions with the stakeholders, including Bina Puri and WCT Bhd, to discuss the LAD issue,” he said.
Azmi said klia2 will open on May 2 next year, after the contractors hand over the completed job by April.
Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) expects KLIA to handle 43 million passengers this year, helped by airlines’ rising connectivity and flight frequency.
MAHB senior general manager for operations Datuk Azmi Murad said growth will also come from new airlines flying to KLIA.
He said the airport’s passenger traffic has been on a steady rise since its opening in 1998 and expects the momentum to continue.
Its passenger volume had risen from 14 million in 1998 to 39.8 million last year, almost reaching its full capacity of 40 million.
The KLIA, which includes the main terminal building and the low-cost carrier terminal, now has 63 airlines flying to 114 destinations.
This year alone, five new airlines have come on stream, namely Thai Smile, Malindo Air, Air France, Turkish Airlines and Philippine Airlines.
MAHB is also anticipating two new airlines between September and December.
“They have confirmed their plan to fly to KLIA. Based on the growth rate at KLIA in the past six months, we believe the 43-million passenger target is easily achievable ... if not, more,” Azmi said yesterday.
In the first six months of 2013, KLIA passenger volume grew nine per cent to 21 million from 19.3 million in the same period last year.
Based on MAHB’s statistics, aircraft movement at the KLIA from January to June this year was 128,731, compared with 114,632 in the first six months of 2012.
Cargo volume rose to 277.1 kg for the period under review from 271.1 million kg.
Meanwhile, Azmi said MAHB will hold discussions with Kuala Lumpur International Airport (klia2) contractors that have been slapped with liquidated and ascertained damages (LAD) for the project delay.
One of the contractors is UEM-Bina Puri JV, which has yet to complete the klia2 main terminal which had been slated for June 28 opening after missing earlier deadlines.
“We will hold discussions with the stakeholders, including Bina Puri and WCT Bhd, to discuss the LAD issue,” he said.
Azmi said klia2 will open on May 2 next year, after the contractors hand over the completed job by April.
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