Penang International Airport

Penang International Airport Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Pulau Pinang
Penang International Airport passenger terminal check-in counters in February 2011.
IATA: PEN – ICAO: WMKP PEN Location of airport in West Malaysia
Summary
Airport type		Public
Owner		Government of Malaysia
Operator		Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad
Serves		Penang, West Malaysia
Location		George Town, Penang, West Malaysia
Elevation AMSL		11 ft / 3 m
Coordinates		05°17′49″N 100°16′36″E / 5.29694°N 100.27667°E / 5.29694; 100.27667
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	m	ft
04/22	3,352	10,997	Asphalt
Statistics (2010)
Passenger movements			4,167,000
Airfreight movements in tonnes			147,057
Aircraft movements			50,205
Source: official web site[1] and DAFIF[2][3]

Penang International Airport (IATA: PEN, ICAO: WMKP), previously known as Bayan Lepas International Airport, is situated in the Bayan Lepas area of Penang, Malaysia. The airport is located 16 km (9.9 mi) south of George Town, the capital city of Penang.

Penang International Airport is a medium-sized airport with good connections to major cities in South East Asia. The airport serves as the main airport for the northern region of Malaysia. Passengers arriving or departing from the north will have a view of George Town, Butterworth and the Penang Bridge. Waiting times for check-in and baggage claims are relatively short compared to other larger regional airports. The airport is not crowded and basic facilities are available for users.

In 2010, over 4 million passengers used Penang International Airport. 43,621 aircraft movements were registered.^[1] Penang International Airport is the third busiest airport in the country, right after Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Kota Kinabalu International Airport.

The airport is the hub of two low-cost carriers, namely Firefly and AirAsia^[4].

Penang International Airport won the Best Emerging Airport (Asia) award in the 23rd annual Asian Freight and Supply Chain Awards 2009 (AFSCA) and Airport of the Year (below 15 million passenger annually) in the 2009 Frost and Sullivan Asia Pacific Aerospace and Defence Awards.

Facilities

There are ongoing discussions between airport operator, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB), Ministry of Transportation, and Asia's largest low cost carrier, AirAsia about setting up Malaysia's third low cost carrier terminal at the airport.^[5] In October 2008, Firefly was urged by the Chief Minister of Penang, Lim Guan Eng to build a budget terminal, termed "community terminal" in order to better cater for the needs of budget travellers. He also called on the Federal Government and MAHB to consider renovating the current airport terminal to higher standards.^[6]

Reports in newspapers recently suggest that the new low-cost carrier terminal is approaching final stages. A parcel of land (36 hectares) has been reserved by Penang state government for the purpose. In NCER economic region, there is a proposal to build a new bigger and modern passenger and cargo terminal. An additional runway is also planned to cater increasing air traffic.^[7]

In the Mini-budget announced by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, who is also the Finance Minister, on March 10, 2009, RM250 million has been allocated for the expansion of the airport.^[8][9].

Airlines and destinations

Destination services from Penang International Airport

Passenger Terminal

Cargo Terminal

Traffic and Statistics

Overall Operational Statistics^[10]

Years	Passenger Movements	Aircraft Movements	Cargo Movements in Metric Tonnes	Cargo Movements in Kilograms
2003	2,325,535	30,771	196,392	432,965
2004	2,994,027	33,071	212,944	469,456
2005	2,834,545	31,173	221,971	489,357
2006	3,103,772	31,448	225,952	498,133
2007	3,173,177	39,265	208,582	208,581,847
2008	3,405,762	43,796	192,936	192,936,282
2009	3,325,423	43,621	137,775	137,775,000
2010	4,167,00025.31%	50,20515.09%	147,0576.74%	147,057,0006.74%

Statistics

Busiest International Flights Out of Penang International Airport by Frequency Rank Destinations Frequency (Weekly) 1 Singapore 74 2 Medan 70 3 Hong Kong 17 4 Jakarta 14 5 Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi 14 6 Guangzhou 7 7 Banda Aceh 7 8 Taipei 4 8 Phuket 4 10 Surabaya 3

Busiest Domestic Flights Out of Penang International Airport by Frequency Rank Destinations Frequency (Weekly) 1 Kuala Lumpur (KLIA) 117 2 Subang (SZB) 70 3 Langkawi 28 4 Johor Bahru 14 4 Kuching 14 6 Kota Kinabalu 7 7 Kota Bahru 4 8 Kuantan 3 8 Kuala Terengganu 3

Ground Transportation

Air passengers can take taxis, which are found within the airport. The main public bus transportation in Penang, Rapid Penang also provides services to the airport. There are 3 bus routes: 102, 306, and 401E. 102 is a route to Teluk Bahang from the Airport via KOMTAR, 306 links the airport to the Penang General Hospital through Air Itam and 401E is the express bus connects the airport to George Town, the state capital and Balik Pulau.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Penang International Airport at Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad
2. ^ Airport information for WMKP at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.Source: DAFIF.
3. ^ Airport information for PEN at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective Oct. 2006).
4. ^ "AirAsia to turn Penang into fourth hub in Malaysia". The Star. July 8, 2009. http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/jkath/Article/. 
5. ^ "Talks on low cost carrier terminal in Penang". The Star. February 8, 2007. http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/2/8/business/20070208185713&sec=business. 
6. ^ "Build Terminal, Airline Urged". The Star. October 28, 2008. http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/10/28/north/2383016&sec=north. 
7. ^ "Syor bina terminal kos rendah di LTABL". Berita Harian. April 3, 2007. http://www.bharian.com.my/m/BHarian/Tuesday/Nasional/20070403000334/Article/. 
8. ^ "Highlights Of The 2009 Mini-Budget", "My Sin Chew", 2009-03-10
9. ^ "A shot in the arm for Penang", "Business Times", 2009-03-12
10. ^ "Penang International Airport". http://www.malaysiaairports.com.my/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=351&Itemid=79. Retrieved 2011-01-30. 

External links

	Malaysia portal
	Aviation portal

• Penang International Airport at Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad
• Current weather for WMKP at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for PEN at Aviation Safety Network