Sultan Azlan Shah Airport
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Sultan Azlan Shah Airport Lapangan Terbang Sultan Azlan Shah | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner | Khazanah Nasional | ||||||||||
| Operator | Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) | ||||||||||
| Serves | Ipoh and southern Perak, Malaysia | ||||||||||
| Location | Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia | ||||||||||
| Time zone | MST (UTC+08:00) | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 130 ft / 40 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 04°34′09″N 101°05′35″E / 4.56917°N 101.09306°E | ||||||||||
| Maps | |||||||||||
 Perak State in Malaysia | |||||||||||
  IPH/WMKI  IPH/WMKI IPH/WMKI (Peninsular Malaysia)  IPH/WMKI IPH/WMKI (Malaysia)  IPH/WMKI IPH/WMKI (Southeast Asia)  IPH/WMKI IPH/WMKI (Asia) | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2020) | |||||||||||
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Sultan Azlan Shah Airport (IATA: IPH, ICAO: WMKI) is an airport that serves Ipoh, a city in the state of Perak, Malaysia. It is located 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) away from the city centre. Sultan Azlan Shah Airport has been ranked as the seventh busiest airport in Malaysia.
History[edit]
The airport was planned to be built in 1983 under the Fourth Malaysia Plan.[3]
Up until the airport expansion, the airport could only accommodate Fokker aircraft.[4]
A new airport terminal was planned in late 1988,[5] costing RM 35 million,[4] along with improvements to the airport to cater to the increasing air traffic, [5] including runaway extensions to accommodate Boeing 737 aircraft which was completed in August 1989.[5] The terminal was expected to be operational by mid-September the same year.[4]
The airport had then been used by many passengers (somewhat due to Malaysia Airlines serving the city and still being based in Subang).
Once the North-South Expressway opened, many people opted to use other methods rather than the often more expensive air travel; as a consequence of the lack of demand, Malaysia Airlines and later AirAsia withdrew their services. Following the introduction of electric trains having a direct link to Kuala Lumpur city centre, Malaysia Airports were forced to reconsider the financial viability of the site.[6]
In the hopes of renewing the airport for use by larger airlines, a new and 'modern' terminal building and an extended runway were constructed at a cost of RM45 million. The runway length of 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) was so that larger aircraft like the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 family could land and take off. The key features of the new terminal were a larger and more spacious departure and arrival halls, full air-conditioning in the terminal, and increased passenger capacity.[7]
The new runway was left to be restricted to turboprop airliners only, due to a number of potholes.[8] Several months later, the issue was resolved,[9] only to then have a repeated issue.[10] Since then, the runway has been safe and used daily.
Malindo Air started a new service to Medan in 2018.
AirAsia resumed services from Johor Bahru to Ipoh in October 2018.
In December 2018, AirAsia launched services to Singapore from Ipoh.
Future[edit]
Upon the realisation by the Malaysian Government that the airport was unable to continue to expand (due to being surrounded by residential areas), there have been suggestions that sites further away from the city centre, in either Seri Iskandar or Batang Padang near Tapah. However, there have been no such actions in the subsequent years.
An alternative plan had been considered to utilise Ipoh as a feeder airport, as the airport was unable to compete with the larger and more established airports in Penang and Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
Several airlines have mentioned their desire to begin serving the airport, but only plans by Tigerair (now Scoot) have materialised.[11] Other airlines based in China and Indonesia have also expressed interest.[12]
In March 2017, the Perak state government announced that the airport's operators would be upgrading the terminal so that there would be more space for passengers.
Next year it is expected that the Perak state government will improve the airport and extend the runway from 2 to 2.5 kilometres (1.2 to 1.6 mi).
Airlines and destinations[edit]
Passenger[edit]
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| AirAsia | Johor Bahru,[13][14][15][16] Singapore[17] |
| Scoot | Singapore |
Traffic and statistics[edit]
Year
|
Passengers
handled |
Passenger
% change |
Cargo
(tonnes) |
Cargo
% change |
Aircraft
movements |
Aircraft
% change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 115,286 |  |
498 | |
1,572 | 11.88
|
| 2004 | 103,123 |  10.6 |
735 |  47.6 |
1,402 | 10.84
|
| 2005 | 74,451 | 27.8 |
437 | 40.5 |
1,145 | 18.31
|
| 2006 | 64,711 | 13.1 |
357 | 18.3 |
954 | 16.72
|
| 2007 | 814 | 98.8 |
10 | 97.2 |
12 | 98.73
|
| 2008 | 5,376 | 560.4 |
0 | 100 |
183 | 14252
|
| 2009 | 21,937 | 308.0 |
0 | |
384 | 109.85
|
| 2010 | 48,508 | 121.1 |
0 | |
844 | 119.84
|
| 2011 | 71,169 | 46.7 |
0 | |
1,536 | 82.07
|
| 2012 | 73,354 | 3.1 |
34 | 167.4 |
1,515 | 1.49
|
| 2013 | 74,320 | 1.3 |
403 | 1091.4 |
1,464 | 3.45
|
| 2014 | 98,768 | 32.9 |
296 | 26.6 |
17,682 | 1107.888
|
| 2015 | 222,606 | 125.4 |
318 | 7.2 |
19,956 | 12.98
|
| 2016 | 269,696 | 21.2 |
178 | 44.1 |
14,137 | 29.28
|
| 2017 | 274,146 | 1.7 |
105 | 40.8 |
10,910 | 22.89
|
| 2018 | 315,673 | 15.1 |
142 | 35.1 |
10,369 | 5.0
|
| 2019 | 457,231 | 44.8 |
0 | |
12,170 | 17.4
|
| 2020 | 100,585 | 78.0 |
0 | |
15,511 | 27.5
|
| Source: Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad[18] | ||||||
| Rank | Destinations | Frequency (weekly) | Airlines | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Singapore
|
5 | TR |
| Rank | Destinations | Frequency (weekly) | Airlines | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Johor Bahru, Johor
|
4 | AK | |
| 2 |  Langkawi, Kedah
|
3 | AK |
References[edit]
- ^ Sultan Azlan Shah Airport at Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad
- ^ WMKI – IPOH/IPOH SULTAN AZLAN SHAH at Department of Civil Aviation Malaysia
- ^ "$2.4 b master plan to develop airports". The Straits Times. 20 May 1983. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
- ^ a b c "Ipoh's new airport terminal to be ready next month". The Straits Times. 19 August 1989. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
- ^ a b c "Ipoh airport to be improved". The Straits Times. 30 October 1988. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
- ^ "What is happening to Ipoh Airport? | Ipoh Echo (Archives)".
- ^ Zambry Checks Out Ipoh Airport | Ipoh Echo (Archives). Ipoh Echo (15 January 2013).
- ^ Malaysian, The. (6 April 2014) RM45 million wasted in Ipoh airport upgrade as potholes prevent bigger aircraft landings – MSN Malaysia News[permanent dead link]. News.malaysia.msn.com.
- ^ Ipoh airport ready to take on bigger aircraft | The Malay Mail Online. Ipoh airport ready to take on bigger aircraft (10 July 2014).
- ^ "Ipoh airport shut down after sinkhole appears in runway | New Straits Times". 5 May 2017.
- ^ Tigerair plans to expand network in Malaysia – Business News. The Star (4 July 2013).
- ^ Ipoh airport eyeing flights from Xiamen – Nation. The Star (23 May 2013).
- ^ "AirAsia to start JB-Alor Setar, JB-Ipoh flights from Oct 1". 18 July 2018.
- ^ "AirAsia adds new domestic routes from Johor Bahru from Oct 2018".
- ^ "AirAsia Launches Ipoh-Johor Bahru Route, More Connections to Perak Soon". 13 July 2018. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020.
- ^ "Johor route for AirAsia | News | Breaking Travel News".
- ^ "AirAsia to reinstate five more routes connecting Singapore and Malaysia". AirAsia. 29 March 2022.
- ^ "Malaysia Airports: Airports Statistics 2020" (PDF). Malaysia Airports. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
External links[edit]
Media related to Sultan Azlan Shah Airport at Wikimedia Commons- Sultan Azlan Shah Airport, Ipoh at Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad
- Location Map of Sultan Azlah Shah Airport
- Current weather for WMKI at NOAA/NWS
- Accident history for IPH at Aviation Safety Network
- New Ipoh Airport Strategy,NST Online,17/03/2010
