Kota Kinabalu International Airport

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Kota Kinabalu International Airport Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kota Kinabalu
IATA: BKI – ICAO: WBKK
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad
Serves		Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
Elevation AMSL		10 ft / 3 m
Coordinates		05°56′13″N 116°03′04″E / 5.93694, 116.05111
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	m	ft
02/20	2,987	9,800	Asphalt
02/20	3,780	12,402	Under construction (estimated 2009)
Statistics (2007)
Passengers			please fill in
Aircraft movements			please fill in
Source: official web site[1] and DAFIF[2][3]

Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) (IATA: BKI, ICAO: WBKK) serves the city of Kota Kinabalu, the state capital of Sabah, Malaysia. It is located about 8 km southwest of the city centre. It is the second busiest airport in Malaysia after Kuala Lumpur International Airport with over 4 million passenger movements in 2006 for domestic and international flights.^[4][5] It is the main gateway into the state of Sabah and into Borneo. In 2006, about 2 million unique tourists visited Sabah through this airport.^[6]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Statistics[5] 2 Future 3 Terminals 3.1 Terminal 1 3.2 Terminal 2 4 Airlines and destinations 4.1 Passenger and Cargo Terminals 4.2 Past airlines and routes 4.3 Prospective Airlines and Routes 5 Incidents and accidents 6 Trivia 7 References 8 External links

[edit] History

The airport first began as a military airfield built by the Japanese occupying forces during World-War II.^[7] It is also known then as Jesselton Airfield. Towards the end of the war, it suffered severe bombings by Allied Forces until the surrender of the Japanese army in 1945.^[8]

After the war, the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) of North Borneo (now Sabah) took charge of the operations and maintenance of the airport. In 1957, the original grass strip runway was resurfaced with bitumen material and a new terminal was built.^[7] By 1959, the runway was extended to 1,593 metres long to enable the operation of Malaysia Airways Viscount aircraft. In 1963, there was the re-enforcement and further expansion of the runway to 1,921 meters long to cater for Comet 4 operations. Commercial flights and passenger arrivals gradually increased and a larger terminal building was needed to accommodate this increase.

In 1969 a British consultancy firm was appointed to formulate a Master Plan for a phased and organised development of KKIA from 1970 until 2000 and years beyond. The master plan was submitted to the government with the following recommendations:

• To reinforce and expand the runway distance to 2,987 meters long to cater for Boeing Jet 707 and 747 operations.
• To build a new terminal complex and parallel taxiway which connects to the runway.
• To provide navigation equipments, communication facilities and a modern light system for the runway.

Around the 1970s to 1980s, a newer terminal building was built on the other side of the runway. Almost all commercial flights were shifted to this newer and larger terminal. From then on until recently, the original terminal became known as Airport Lama ("old airport"). In 1992, the DCA of Sabah was corporatised, and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad took over management and operations of the airport.^[7] Further expansion project began in 2006 for both terminals (see below), and in January 2007 the original terminal was rebranded Terminal 2, and the other became known as Terminal 1.

[edit] Statistics^[5]

Year	Passenger movements	Aircraft movements
1960	33,570	-
1970	290,575	-
1975	520,540	-
1980	1,246,130	-
1985	1,430,000	-
1990	2,040,000	-
2000	3,092,326	41,411
2001	3,036,196	40,157
2002	3,256,212	44,528
2003	3,302,366	44,748
2004	3,918,201	52,352
2005	3,970,000	51,824
2006	4,015,221	52,055
2007	please fill in	please fill in
2008	projecting	projecting

[edit] Future

This article or section contains information about a planned or expected expansion of an existing airport. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the construction and/or completion of the airport expansion approaches, and as more information becomes available on it.

In mid 2005, the Malaysian government approved a project for major renovation and extension of KKIA worth RM1.4 billion that will see the present 2,988 m runway extended to 3,780 m and the size of the main airport terminal building (Terminal 1) increased from 34,000 m² to 87,000 m². The new airport terminal building will be able to accommodate four Boeing 747s, one Airbus A330, seven Boeing 737s, three Fokker 50s and three Dorniers at any one time. It will also have 12 jetways for passenger use.^[9][10] The present air traffic control tower which is attached to the main terminal building will be demolished and will be replaced by a separate, stand alone tower. The whole project including the runway extension is scheduled to be completed by mid-2009.^[4]

When the overall project is completed, the airport will be able to accommodate the Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger aircraft. The airport will also be the second largest airport in Malaysia with an annual capacity of 12 million passengers — 9 million from Terminal 1 and 3 million from Terminal 2.^[11]

In 14 of May 2007, Tune Hotels announced its plans to establish its first property in East Malaysia at the upcoming 1 Borneo hypermall in Kota Kinabalu. The expansion programme offers the company an exciting opportunity to fill in the large gap of quality branded no-frills accommodation in South East Asia region. The company sees a huge upside in Kota Kinabalu's tourism market over the next 4-5 years.

[edit] Terminals

[edit] Terminal 1

Terminal 1 is the main terminal of KKIA. It is accessed via Jalan Putatan in Petagas nearby Kepayan. Currently its technical facilities includes 12 gates, 5 airbridges, and 4 baggage claim belts. It has the capacity of handling 2.5 million passenger annually. It also features duty-free shops, other shops, lounges, travel agents, restaurants, and many others. It is currently undergoing a massive renovation and expansion (see above). Malaysia Airlines is the main operating airline in this terminal.^[12]

[edit] Terminal 2

What is today Terminal 2 used to be the original terminal building of the airport when it was first built. It is accessed via Jalan Mat Salleh in Tanjung Aru and is located on the other side of the runway from Terminal 1. Terminal 2 is really for charter and low cost carrier. Sometime, it is called LCCT. Terminal 2 has recently undergone a major renovation and extension and it re-opened on January 1, 2007 in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 2007. It was completed 27 months ahead of schedule. Although it is renovated to serve the low cost carriers, namely AirAsia, it is not a low cost carrier terminal (LCCT) as that of Kuala Lumpur International Airport's LCCT, as here, other full service airlines may utilize the terminal.^[13] It has 26 check-in counters for domestic and international flights and 6 parking bays for B737 and A320 aircraft as well as 7 luggage x-ray machines, a VIP room and 13 immigration counters. The terminal has the capacity to handle 3 million passengers annually.^[11] AirAsia plans to make Kota Kinabalu the main hub for flights from China to Malaysia due to Kota Kinabalu being the nearest Malaysian hub to China. This airport was the second airport to have separation between normal carriers and low cost carrier.

AirAsia is expected to start flying to Guilin, Xiamen, Hong Kong and Vietnam in 2008. Sabah Government is optimistic in targeting more visitors from Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

[edit] Passenger and Cargo Terminals

There are 19 airlines operationg in KKIA (including charters and seasonals) :

Airlines operating in Kota Kinabalu International Airport

Airlines	Destinations	Terminal	Commenced date	Remarks
AirAsia Indonesia AirAsia	Johor Bharu, Kuala Lumpur, Kuching, Macau, Manila-Clark, Miri, Penang, Sandakan, Shenzhen, Tawau Bali, Jakarta	2	29 April 2008
Asiana Airlines	Seoul-Incheon	1
Cathay Pacific Dragonair	Hong Kong	1
Cebu Pacific	Manila [Starts 18 July 2008]	2	18 July 2008
Hornbill Skyways		2		Charter
Korean Air	Seoul-Incheon	1
Layang Layang Aerospace	Layang-Layang Atoll, Puerto Princesa	1
Malaysia Airlines MASwings	Bandar Seri Begawan, Cebu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Kaohsiung, Kuala Lumpur, Kuching, Labuan, Manila, Miri, Osaka-Kansai [Arrivals Only], Sandakan, Seoul-Incheon, Singapore, Taipei-Taoyuan, Tawau, Tokyo-Narita Bintulu, Kuching, Kudat, Lahad Datu, Miri, Mulu, Sandakan, Sibu, Tawau	1	1 October 2007
MASkargo		1		Cargo
Royal Brunei Airlines	Bandar Seri Begawan	1
Sabah Air	Labuan	2		Charter
Singapore Airlines SilkAir	Singapore	1
TransAsia Airways	Taipei-Taoyuan	1		Charter
Transmile Air Services		2		Cargo

[edit] Past airlines and routes

Past airlines and routes operated in Kota Kinabalu International Airport

Airlines	Destinations	Terminated	Remarks
Australian Airlines	Cairns	April 29, 2005	Past airline Operations Ceased
Cathay Pacific	Hong Kong		Past airline Continued by KA
China Northern Airlines	Sanya		Past airline Operations Ceased Merged into CZ
Far Eastern Air Transport	Taipei-Taoyuan	May 13, 2008	Past airline Operations Ceased
FlyAsianXpress	Bintulu, Kudat, Lahad Datu, Miri, Mulu, Sandakan, Sibu		Past airline Operations Ceased Continued by MH-mw
Garuda Indonesia			Past airline
Malaysia Airlines	Balikpapan, Beijing-Capital, Bintulu, Davao, Johor Bahru, Kudat, Lahad Datu, Los Angeles, Manado, Shanghai-Pudong, Sibu, Tarakan
MASwings	Lawas [Ends 29 March 2008], Limbang [Ends 29 March 2008]
Philippine Airlines	Cebu, Manila		Past airline Codesharing with MH as potential airlines
Saeaga Airlines	Bintulu, Kuching, Layang-Layang Atoll, Miri, Mulu, Sibu	September 1998	Past airline Operations Ceased
Singapore Airlines	Singapore	October 2001	Past airline Continued by MI
South East Asian Airlines	Davao		Past airline
South Phoenix Airways	Zamboanga		Past airline
Thai AirAsia	Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi	July 22, 2007	Past airline
Thai Airways International	Bangkok-Don Mueang	1994	Past airline
Uni Air	Taipei-Taoyuan		Past airline
Xiamen Airlines	Xiamen		Past airline

[edit] Prospective Airlines and Routes

• AirAsia X (Darwin, Hangzhou)
• Air China (Beijing, Shanghai)
• Air Macau (Macau)
• Air Philippines
• China Airlines (Taipei-Taoyuan)
• Firefly
• Jetstar Asia Airways (Singapore)
• Philippine Airlines
• Tiger Airways (Singapore)

[edit] Incidents and accidents

• June 6, 1976 - A chartered Sabah Air carrying government ministers crashed in nearby Sembulan upon descending towards the airport killing 11 passengers including the then Chief Minister of Sabah Tun Fuad Stephens. The crash became known as the "Double Six Tragedy".
• September 6, 1991 - An executive private executive jet with 10 Americans and two Britons on board crashed into the jungle near Hulu Kimanis, Papar, about 50km from here.
• November 16, 1991 - Three policmen perished after their 11-seater Pilatus Porter Royal Malaysian Police aircraft crashed at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport.
• September 18, 1993 - A 13.5 square-metre depression occurred at the edge of the runway the airport had to closed for 70 minutes.
• July 18, 2003 - On Dragonair flight KA060, an A330-342 from Hong Kong to Kota Kinabalu encountered severe turbulence associated with Tropical Depression Koni over the South China Sea. 12 crew members and 3 passengers were injured, of which 2 crew members sustained serious injuries. The aircraft landed safely at Hong Kong International Airport.
• November 8, 2004 - On AirAsia Flight 104, the Boeing 737 plane carrying 111 passengers and five crew skidded while landing. Three passengers - a five-year-old girl and two women - were injured while evacuating from the plane and received outpatient treatment at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
• December 14, 2005 - The Kota Kinabalu International Airport was closed for a few hours after an AirAsia plane burst a tire on landing. There were no injuries in the 10.30pm incident.

[edit] Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• On December 17, 1993, The first flight from Terminal Three of Subang Airport when it became operational is to Kota Kinabalu.
• AirAsia launched its first Airbus A320 aircraft with a flight to Kota Kinabalu.
• An average of 5,000 domestic and international travellers utilized the new Terminal 2 every day.
• The new terminal was completed 29 months ahead of schedule.
• Malaysia Airlines celebrated its 58th anniversary of flight operations by flying 300 children from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu and vice-versa.
• The airport is the homebase for Sabah Flying Club.
• As of November 2007, there are 282 flights a week to and from Kuala Lumpur making it the busiest domestic air route in Malaysia.^[14][15]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Kota Kinabalu International Airport at Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad
• Kota Kinabalu International Airport at Borneo Trade
• Department of Civil Aviation Sabah
• Photos taken from BKI
• Current weather for WBKK at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for BKI at Aviation Safety Network

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