Sultan Ahmad Shah Airport (IATA: KUA, ICAO: WMKD) is an airport that serves Kuantan, a city in the state of Pahang, Malaysia. The airport is located 15 km from the city. In 2009, the airport handled 226,912 passengers on 3,110 flights, though the airport is able to handle over one million passengers annually.[3] In 2008, Taiwan and Tourism Malaysia had co-operated that there were 23 charter flights directly from Taipei to Kuantan Airport, this condition had made Kuantan Sultan Ahmad Shah Airport the first airport in East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia that received international flights. Passengers have to walk from the aircraft to the arrival hall.
Sultan Ahmad Shah Airport Lapangan Terbang Sultan Ahmad Shah | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public/Military | ||||||||||
| Owner | Government of Malaysia | ||||||||||
| Operator | Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad | ||||||||||
| Serves | Kuantan | ||||||||||
| Location | Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia | ||||||||||
| Time zone | MST (UTC+08:00) | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 55 ft / 17 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 03°46′11″N 103°12′34″E / 3.76972°N 103.20944°E | ||||||||||
| Maps | |||||||||||
 Pahang state in Malaysia | |||||||||||
  KUA /WMKD  KUA /WMKD KUA /WMKD (Malaysia)  KUA /WMKD KUA /WMKD (Southeast Asia)  KUA /WMKD KUA /WMKD (Asia) | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2020) | |||||||||||
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Co-located with the airport is RMAF Kuantan, housing 15 Squadron (BAE Hawk) and 17 Squadron (MiG-29) of the Royal Malaysian Air Force.
Airlines and destinations
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Malaysia Airlines | Kuala Lumpur–International |
| Scoot | Singapore[4] |
| Firefly | Penang[5] |
Traffic and statistics
Year | Passengers handled | Passenger % change | Cargo (tonnes) | Cargo % change | Aircraft movements | Aircraft % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 351,179 |  | 64 | | 4,054 | |
| 2004 | 349,375 |  0.5 | 64 | | 4,088 |  0.8 |
| 2005 | 298,184 | 14.6 | 75 | 17.2 | 3,757 | 8.1 |
| 2006 | 273,005 | 8.4 | 109 | 45.3 | 2,973 | 20.9 |
| 2007 | 262,486 | 3.8 | 103 | 5.5 | 3,487 | 17.3 |
| 2008 | 259,529 | 1.1 | 70 | 32.0 | 3,551 | 1.8 |
| 2009 | 226,912 | 12.6 | 70 | | 3,110 | 12.4 |
| 2010 | 220,878 | 2.7 | 49 | 30.0 | 2,802 | 9.9 |
| 2011 | 248,846 | 12.7 | 38 | 22.4 | 3,452 | 23.2 |
| 2012 | 280,074 | 12.5 | 57 | 50.5 | 3,613 | 4.7 |
| 2013 | 317,440 | 13.3 | 86 | 51.2 | 3,663 | 1.4 |
| 2014 | 314,130 | 1.0 | 46 | 46.9 | 3,911 | 6.8 |
| 2015 | 292,109 | 7.0 | 21 | 55.2 | 4,174 | 6.7 |
| 2016 | 247,757 | 15.2 | 15 | 27.3 | 3,493 | 16.3 |
| 2017 | 241,314 | 2.6 | 25 | 65.3 | 2,893 | 17.2 |
| 2018 | 258,816 | 7.3 | 13 | 47.4 | 3,013 | 4.1 |
| 2019 | 394,599 | 52.5 | 2.8 | 78.4 | 4,082 | 35.5 |
| 2020 | 71,877 | 84.3 | 3.0 | 7.9 | 1,117 | 72.6 |
| Source: Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad[6] | ||||||
| Rank | Destinations | Frequency (weekly) | Airlines | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Kuala Lumpur | 17 | MH | |
| 2 |  Singapore | 3 | TR |
Passenger facilities
The airport has an outdoor car park, a taxi stand, several small shops, an arrival hall and a departure hall. The front part of the building housing the shops and the check in counters are not air conditioned.
Proposed Relocation
Proposals for relocating the airport has been recorded since 2015, with early suggestions for it to be either located nearer to the coast at Penor, or possibly around the same area of its original location. The operational capacity of the current airport is severely limited, mainly due to the nature of the airport being co-located with the RMAF Kuantan (which poses risks to national security) and also constraints of being surrounded by residential areas, both of which make it difficult to increase the frequency of flights and its capacity for expansion. Adding to this, the airport infrastructure is outdated, lacking any jet bridges and small, insufficient for larger crowds.
Following this, there are also demands to establish a regional hub for international flights in the East Coast Peninsular Region, as stated in the "Rancangan Fizikal Negara ke-4".[7]
The Menteri Besar of Pahang, Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail announced in July 2021 of the development of a RM 10.5 billion aerospace city, integrating a new international airport with air cargo and MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) capabilities. [8] This project is to be headed by Pahang Corporation Sdn Bhd (Pahang Corp) on an area measuring 5,024 ha in Chendor, adjacent to the ECRL railway station at Cherating, which is expected to be completed by early 2027. The development of this airport is expected to coincide with the establishment of Kuantan Port as an international logistics and manufacturing hub. This will also allow the return of full control of the air force base to the RMAF.
An MoU was signed between Pahang Corp, Gading Group Sdn Bhd and Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) in 12th of July 2022.[9] Construction is expected to commence in 2024 and the airport is expected to begin operations in 2026. [10]
See also
References
External links
- Sultan Ahmad Shah Airport, Kuantan at Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad
- Sultan Ahmad Shah Airport Real Time Flight Schedule
- Current weather for WMKD at NOAA/NWS
- Accident history for KUA at Aviation Safety Network