Malacca International Airport (IATA: MKZ, ICAO: WMKM), previously known as Batu Berendam Airport, is situated in Batu Berendam, Malacca, Malaysia. This airport serves not only the state of Malacca but also northern Johor and Negeri Sembilan. The terminal complex, spanning 7,000 m2 (75,000 sq ft), is equipped with international-standard amenities and has an annual passenger capacity of 1.5 million. The airport features a 2,135-meter runway, accommodating narrowbody aircraft such as the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320.
Malacca International Airport Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Melaka | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner | Khazanah Nasional | ||||||||||
| Operator | Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad | ||||||||||
| Serves | Malacca, Malaysia | ||||||||||
| Location | Batu Berendam, Malacca, Malaysia | ||||||||||
| Time zone | MST (UTC+08:00) | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 40 ft / 12 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 02°15′47″N 102°15′09″E / 2.26306°N 102.25250°E | ||||||||||
| Maps | |||||||||||
 Malacca state in Peninsular Malaysia, Malaysia | |||||||||||
  MKZ /WMKM  MKZ /WMKM MKZ /WMKM (Malaysia)  MKZ /WMKM MKZ /WMKM (Southeast Asia)  MKZ /WMKM MKZ /WMKM (Asia) | |||||||||||
 | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Statistics (2023) | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
History
editThe construction of the airport was approved in April 1950 and was expected to be completed within a year.[3]
The airport, which occupies 141 acres (0.57 km2) of land, was completed in August 1952 at a cost of $500,000.[4] The first plane landed at the airport the following month.[5] The Dakota aircraft of Malayan Airways arrive at the airport four times a week.[6]
The airport and particularly its control tower bears historical significance as it was the same tower which guided the plane of Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, to land from London on 20 February 1956. It was in Malacca that Tunku announced the date for the independence of then Malaya from the United Kingdom. Considering the historical nature of this control tower, the Chief Minister of Malacca, Mohd Ali Rustam is attempting to save the tower, by either relocating it, or by changing plans to incorporate the tower.[7]
Between 2008 and 2014, the airport was served by Sky Aviation which operated flights from Pekanbaru five times per week.[8] Flights ceased in 2014 when Sky Aviation suspended all operations.
"The state government is also discussing with Firefly and AirAsia to serve various routes via the Malacca Airport".[9]
Malaysia's hybrid airline, Malindo Air, launched four-weekly flights from the Malacca Airport to Penang, Malaysia, and Pekanbaru, Indonesia, on 4 November 2014.
In 2016, Indonesia's hybrid airline, XpressAir launched four-weekly flights from the Malacca Airport to Pekanbaru, Indonesia, on 29 April 2016. China Southern Airlines launched an inaugural charter flight from Malacca Airport to Guangzhou, China, on 29 September 2016. By the end of 2016, China Southern Airlines stopped charter flights to Malacca.
The airport is also used as the base of the Malaysian Flying Academy (MFA), which has been operating out of the airport since 1987.
AirAsia group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said he had discussed with Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai in Putrajaya on 29 June 2016 for the potential of turning the Malacca Airport into a low-cost terminal. Fernandes said AirAsia wanted to use the Malacca Airport but had been unable to convince MAHB to allow AirAsia to use the airport.[10]
AirAsia marked the arrival of its inaugural flight from Penang to the historical state of Malacca on 1 July 2019.[11]
In September 2023, all commercial operations had ceased, with airlines citing lack of demand and high operational costs.[12] The state government was subsequently offering incentives in order to woo back airlines to use the airport, yet to date to no avail. [13]
In October 2024, Melaka Airport had reopened, as Scoot began almost daily flights from Singapore [14]
Airlines and destinations
editPassenger
edit| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Scoot | Singapore[15] |
Ground Transportation
editThe airport is served by Bus.my hourly from Melaka Sentral from 6am till 10pm. Taxi and e-hailing car are also available at the airport.
New terminal
edit
Construction of a new terminal started on 1 April 2006. The runway was upgraded from 1,372 m × 37 m (4,501 ft × 121 ft), to 2,045 m × 45 m (6,709 ft × 148 ft) and is now 2,135 m × 45 m (7,005 ft × 148 ft), allowing Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 aircraft to take off. The terminal complex was replaced by a new 7,000 m2 (75,000 sq ft) terminal equipped with international-standard amenities. The control tower was replaced and complemented with advanced aeronautical devices. Both ends of the runway now contain facilities to guide night landing and better assure safety in bad weather conditions.
In May 2009, the new terminal was officially opened. The new terminal could handle 1.5 million passengers annually as opposed to the 30,000 of the old terminal. The new airport terminal was officiated by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on 4 February 2010.
Facilities
editAPR-Aerospace Engineering has built a hangar in Malacca Airport which can accommodate Boeing 737 or Airbus A320 for Aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services, Aircraft modification and retrofits, Aircraft technical handling and ground support services, Aircraft spare support and pooling, Technical training on aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul and Structured On-the-Job Training for APR-ATC's TAME program. The hangar was completed in April 2016.
The major facilities that are found in this airport include taxi services, gift shops, cafe, duty-free outlets, conference rooms, multi-purpose meeting and event centre, wheelchair service, staff assistance and free WiFi internet access.
Malacca Airport is one of the seven airports in Malaysia that provide e-Visa facilities for Chinese tourists from September 2016 onwards.
Expansion and developments
editIn August 2015, Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, announced that the federal government is mulling a proposal to expand Malacca Airport, particularly in conjunction with the recent Cabinet endorsement of the southern state's "twin state" status with China's Guangdong city. Malacca Airport will upgrade its runway, apron, aerobridge and taxiway.
In October 2016, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said Malacca Airport in Batu Berendam may be relocated to accommodate larger aircraft like the Boeing 777. Liow said a decision will be reached by the end of 2016 whether to move the airport to another location or to keep the airport at its present site based on the recommendation from an aviation consultant.[16]
On 30 January 2017, State Transport, Project Rehabilitation and International Trade Committee chairman Datuk Lim Ban Hong said the runway of the state airport will be extended to 2,500 metres (m) following the decision by the Federal Government to extend the runway in a bid to accommodate larger aircraft without the need for land acquisitions while the work is expected to be completed in a short span of time. The expansion of Malacca Airport will be completed in 2019.
On 27 November 2017, Malacca CM Idris Haron said Malacca Airport is expected to upgrade next year (2018) with an upgrade cost of RM74 million (under RMKe-11). The runway will be upgraded from 2135 m to 2665 m and a taxiway will be built and the apron will be expanded as well.
On 20 September 2018, Malacca CM Adly Zahari announced that Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) will introduce a five-year rebate on the passenger service charge (PSC) for flights from Malacca Airport (MKZ). Aside from the rebates, Adly said airline companies operating from MKZ will also be exempted from paying landing charges for a year. According to MAHB, the incentives were introduced as part of the group's efforts in working with the state government and airlines to promote tourism in the country.
Traffic and statistics
edit| Year | Passengers handled |
Passenger % change |
Cargo (metric tonnes) |
Cargo % change |
Aircraft movements |
Aircraft % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 18,576 |  |
127 | |
54,160 |
|
| 2010 | 21,687 |  16.7 |
144 | 13.4 |
60,811 | 12.3
|
| 2011 | 21,261 |  2.0 |
139 | 3.5 |
53,702 | 11.7
|
| 2012 | 34,352 | 61.6 |
195 | 40.3 |
48,881 | 9.0
|
| 2013 | 21,637 | 37.0 |
N/A | |
36,978 | 24.4
|
| 2014 | 14,178 | 58.7 |
N/A | |
23,747 | 35.8
|
| 2015 | 69,710 | 391.7 |
N/A | |
19,800 | 16.6
|
| 2016 | 58,703 | 15.8 |
N/A | |
35,252 | 78.0
|
| 2017 | 62,076 | 5.8 |
N/A | |
37,867 | 7.4
|
| 2018 | 52,493 | 15.4 |
N/A | |
33,333 | 12.0
|
| 2019 | 135,569 | 158.3 |
0.1 | |
52,072 | 56.2
|
| 2020 | 29,424 | 78.3 |
N/A | |
37,998 | 27.0
|
| 2021 | 0 | 100.0 |
N/A | |
27,256 | 28.3
|
| 2022 | 18,821 | |
0.1 | |
43,022 | 57.8
|
| 2023 | 23,489 | 24.8 |
0.1 | 41.8 |
41,891 | 2.6
|
| Source: Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad[17][18] | ||||||
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ Malacca International Airport at Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad
- ^ WMKM – Malacca at Department of Civil Aviation Malaysia
- ^ "Malacca Airport Proposal Soon". The Straits Times. 20 April 1950. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "Untitled". Singapore Standard. 26 August 1952. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "1952 Saw the Turn of Malaya's Red Tide". The Singapore Free Press. 31 December 1952. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "New Air Service Via Malacca". Sunday Standard. 20 July 1952. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "Malacca CM in bid to save airport tower" Archived 4 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine, The Star, 30 August 2007
- ^ "Air Asia di Melaka", "Mohd Ali Rustam's blog", 28 August 2008
- ^ Murali, R.S.N. (9 November 2014). "Expansion for Malacca airport". The Star. Archived from the original on 21 November 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "AirAsia to invest RM20mil to promote klia2". The Star. 29 June 2016. Archived from the original on 19 December 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "AirAsia welcomes inaugural flight to Melaka". Airasia Newsroom. 1 July 2019. Archived from the original on 8 February 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "Airlines stopped using Melaka airport in absence of written agreements, says exco man". The Star. 18 September 2023. Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "Airlines not keen to operate at Melaka airport despite incentives, says exco". The Star. 25 October 2023. Archived from the original on 5 March 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "Scoot commences Singapore - Melaka flights".
- ^ "SIA's Scoot launches new E2 routes". Business Traveller Asia Pacific. Business Traveller Media Limited. 7 August 2024.
- ^ "Liow: Status of Malacca airport to be known by year-end | Malay Mail". 24 June 2022.
- ^ "Malaysia Airports: Airports Statistics 2020" (PDF). malaysiaairports. 2 April 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
- ^ "Malaysia Airports: Airports Statistics 2023" (PDF). malaysiaairports. 15 April 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
External links
edit
- List of International Airports in Malaysia as Recognized by Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhad
- Current weather for WMKM at NOAA/NWS
- Accident history for MKZ at Aviation Safety Network
- EZineer – A forum with regular updates on Expansion work progress
- Batu Berendam Airport, Malacca at Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad
- [1] Malacca Air can fly only after it obtains mandatory licences
- Sky Aviation Flight Schedule
- Firefly Flight Schedule