The busiest airports in Malaysia are measured according to data presented by Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad.[1] Among all top 20 busiest airports, the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is the only airport which can land the A380. KLIA also has the longest runway in Malaysia, with 1 4,124 and 2 4,000 m runways.
Passenger traffic
A passenger is described as a person who departs, arrives or passes in condition of transit through any airport located between the borders of Malaysia at any point of time during a year. The data presented here includes the total number of departure, arrival and transit passengers for the years selected, and for both domestic and international flights arriving in scheduled and non-scheduled services.[2]
| # | Airport name | State | City served | IATA | ICAO | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kuala Lumpur International Airport | Selangor | Greater Kuala Lumpur | KUL | WMKK | 48,938,424 | 52,643,511 | 58,554,627 | 59,988,409 | 62,257,101 | 13,120,116 | 4,011,838 | 25,399,296 | 47,224,000 |
| 2 | Kota Kinabalu International Airport | Sabah | Kota Kinabalu | BKI | WBKK | 6,573,461 | 7,263,339 | 8,006,446 | 8,622,488 | 9,443,275 | 2,300,884 | 1,123,575 | 5,022,756 | 7,035,170 |
| 3 | Penang International Airport | Penang | George Town | PEN | WMKP | 6,258,756 | 6,684,026 | 7,232,097 | 7,790,423 | 8,316,050 | 1,814,266 | 543,519 | 4,275,123 | 6,781,059 |
| 4 | Kuching International Airport | Sarawak | Kuching | KCH | WBGG | 4,772,453 | 4,919,677 | 5,095,193 | 5,564,722 | 5,947,478 | 1,778,519 | 840,553 | 4,340,070 | 5,327,787 |
| 5 | Senai International Airport | Johor | Johor Bahru | JHB | WMKJ | 2,581,966 | 2,828,074 | 3,124,799 | 3,522,576 | 4,270,144 | 1,096,330 | 371,154 | 2,216,136 | 3,010,018 |
| 6 | Langkawi International Airport | Kedah | Langkawi | LGK | WMKL | 2,336,177 | 2,665,271 | 2,767,707 | 2,735,703 | 2,945,963 | 966,789 | 762,142 | 2,240,416 | 2,501,717 |
| 7 | Miri Airport | Sarawak | Miri | MYY | WBGR | 2,249,206 | 2,200,546 | 2,188,048 | 2,350,700 | 2,435,493 | 874,661 | 509,367 | 1,775,238 | 2,195,063 |
| 8 | Tawau Airport | Sabah | Tawau | TWU | WBKW | 1,203, 792 | 1,271,915 | 1,470,560 | 1,642,171 | 1,832,368 | 571,800 | 415,977 | 1,377,644 | 1,710,472 |
| 9 | Sultan Ismail Petra Airport | Kelantan | Kota Bharu | KBR | WMKC | 2,063,747 | 2,062,248 | 1,988,212 | 1,688,625 | 1,789,516 | 711,285 | 501,930 | 1,384,903 | 1,581,759 |
| 10 | Sibu Airport | Sarawak | Sibu | SBW | WBGS | 1,454,360 | 1,469,341 | 1,497,412 | 1,579,528 | 1,750,876 | 569,625 | 243,350 | 1,233,824 | 1,548,423 |
| 11 | Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport | Selangor | Kuala Lumpur | SZB | WMSA | 3,059,144 | 2,834,384 | 2,880,586 | 1,964,059 | 2,259,587 | 949,508 | 577,984 | 1,547,253 | 1,376,030 |
| 12 | Sandakan Airport | Sabah | Sandakan | SDK | WMKS | 853,411 | 882,811 | 895,256 | 950,861 | 1,083,090 | 361,955 | 245,244 | 793,536 | |
| 13 | Bintulu Airport | Sarawak | Bintulu | BTU | WBGB | 800,008 | 805,206 | 850,412 | 923,033 | 1,114,326 | 369,802 | 166,236 | ||
| 14 | Sultan Abdul Halim Airport | Kedah | Alor Setar | AOR | WMKA | 719,029 | 787,706 | 802,304 | 817,253 | 919,887 | 275,742 | 165,678 | ||
| 15 | Sultan Mahmud Airport | Terengganu | Kuala Terengganu | TGG | WMKN | 857,239 | 900,218 | 943,660 | 894,737 | 910,801 | 300,945 | 165,649 |
Cargo traffic
The following is a list of 10 busiest airports in Malaysia in terms of cargo handling traffic. The cargo numbers are in metric tonnes.
| # | Airport name | State | City served | IATA | ICAO | 2012 (tonnes) | 2013 (tonnes) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kuala Lumpur International Airport | Selangor | Kuala Lumpur | KUL | WMKK | 673,107 | 680,983 |
| 2 | Penang International Airport | Penang | George Town | PEN | WMKP | 123,246 | 153,703 |
| 3 | Subang Airport | Selangor | Kuala Lumpur | SZB | WMSA | 22,680 | 26,443 |
| 4 | Kuching International Airport | Sarawak | Kuching | KCH | WBGG | 15,810 | 21,993 |
| 5 | Kota Kinabalu International Airport | Sabah | Kota Kinabalu | BKI | WBKK | 23,563 | 21,922 |
| 6 | Miri Airport | Sarawak | Miri | MYY | WBGR | 9,879 | 9,800 |
| 7 | Labuan Airport | Wilayah Persekutuan | Labuan | LBU | WBKL | 6,071 | 9,329 |
| 8 | Senai International Airport | Johor | Johor Bahru | JHB | WMKJ | 3,149 | 3,443 |
| 9 | Sandakan Airport | Sabah | Sandakan | SDK | WBKS | 2,479 | 2,894 |
| 10 | Tawau Airport | Sabah | Tawau | TWU | WBKW | 2,489 | 2,844 |
Aircraft movements
Commercial aircraft movements
The following is a list of the 10 busiest airports in Malaysia in terms of number of commercial aircraft movements (take-off and landing).[3]
| # | Airport name | State | City served | IATA | ICAO | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kuala Lumpur International Airport | Selangor | Kuala Lumpur | KUL | WMKK | 282,290 | 325,537 | 339,650 |
| 2 | Kota Kinabalu International Airport | Sabah | Kota Kinabalu | BKI | WBKK | 58,366 | 67,601 | 68,776 |
| 3 | Penang International Airport | Penang | George Town | PEN | WMKP | 49,966 | 56,760 | 63,396 |
| 4 | Kuching International Airport | Sarawak | Kuching | KCH | WBGG | 43,981 | 53,095 | 50,917 |
| 5 | Subang Airport | Selangor | Kuala Lumpur | SZB | WMSA | 33,224 | 41,707 | 56,629 |
| 6 | Miri Airport | Sarawak | Miri | MYY | WBGR | 42,351 | 44,875 | 46,504 |
| 7 | Sultan Ismail Petra Airport | Kelantan | Kota Bharu | KBR | WMKC | 17,112 | 20,527 | 25,028 |
| 8 | Langkawi International Airport | Kedah | Langkawi | LGK | WMKL | 15,162 | 17,675 | 21,722 |
| 9 | Sibu Airport | Sarawak | Sibu | SBW | WBGS | 15,923 | 17,196 | 17,878 |
| 10 | Labuan Airport | Wilayah Persekutuan | Labuan | LBU | WBKL | 13,448 | 15,072 | 15,533 |
Total aircraft movements
The following is a list of the 10 busiest airports in Malaysia in terms of total aircraft movements (take-off and landing).[4] This may include commercial, private, training and military aircraft.
| # | Airport name | State | City served | IATA | ICAO | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kuala Lumpur International Airport | Selangor | Kuala Lumpur | KUL | WMKK | 269,509 | 283,352 | 326,678 |
| 2 | Subang Airport | Selangor | Kuala Lumpur | SZB | WMSA | 68,135 | 74,008 | 80,047 |
| 3 | Kota Kinabalu International Airport | Sabah | Kota Kinabalu | BKI | WBKK | 59,638 | 58,366 | 67,601 |
| 4 | Penang International Airport | Penang | George Town | PEN | WMKP | 54,713 | 53,766 | 60,020 |
| 5 | Kuching International Airport | Sarawak | Kuching | KCH | WBGG | 53,154 | 46,727 | 56,085 |
| 6 | Sultan Ismail Petra Airport | Kelantan | Kota Bharu | KBR | WMKC | 64,114 | 50,991 | 50,406 |
| 7 | Miri Airport | Sarawak | Miri | MYY | WBGR | 43,707 | 45,127 | 47,585 |
| 8 | Senai International Airport | Johor | Johor Bahru | JHB | WMKJ | TBC | 12,639 | 37,908 |
| 9 | Malacca International Airport | Malacca | Malacca City | MKZ | WMKM | 53,702 | 48,881 | 36,978 |
| 10 | Langkawi International Airport | Kedah | Langkawi | LGK | WMKL | 31,482 | 33,056 | 29,309 |
Busiest air routes
As of 2023, the busiest domestic route in Malaysia is the Kuala Lumpur - Kota Kinabalu - Kuala Lumpur sector, with over 160 flights weekly. The busiest international route from Malaysia is Kuala Lumpur - Singapore - Kuala Lumpur sector with over 255 flights weekly. In addition, the busiest non-Kuala Lumpur based domestic route is Kota Kinabalu - Tawau - Kota Kinabalu sector with more than 50 flights weekly.