Penang International Airport

Penang International Airport (PIA) is an international airport in George Town, the capital city of the Malaysian state of Penang. The airport is located at the southeastern tip of Penang Island, 16 km south of the city centre, and serves the country's second largest conurbation.

As the main gateway into northwestern Malaysia, PIA is the third busiest airport in Malaysia in terms of passenger traffic, recording 8.3 million tourist arrivals in 2019 alone. It is also the second busiest in the country by cargo handled and the highest in terms of export value, with RM385 billion in exports in 2020. Additionally, the airport is the main hub for local budget airline Firefly and one of AirAsia's operating bases.

History
The airport, then named Bayan Lepas International Airport, was completed in 1935, when Penang was part of the British crown colony of the Straits Settlements.

In the 1970s, a major expansion of the airport was carried out, during which a terminal building of Minangkabau architecture was built and the runway extended to accommodate Boeing 747s, then the largest passenger jet aircraft. Upon the completion of the expansion works in 1979, the airport was renamed Penang International Airport.

The airport became a source of contention between the Penang state government and the federal government in the 2010s, as transportation infrastructure throughout Malaysia falls under the purview of the latter. Calls by the Penang state government to expand PIA largely went unheeded, even though the airport has exceeded its maximum capacity of 6.5 million passengers. It was not until 2017 when the federal authorities finally announced plans to expand PIA to accommodate 12 million passengers per year by 2029.

While the planned expansion met with delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2023, the federal Ministry of Transport approved an allocation of RM93 million to facilitate land acquisition and infrastructure development for the airport's expansion.

Passenger
However, the airline has no traffic rights to transport passengers solely between Penang and Phuket.

Operational statistics
PIA is the third busiest airport in the country in terms of passenger traffic after Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA). The airport experienced its peak passenger traffic of 8.3 million in 2019, surpassing its annual capacity of 6.5 million passengers, before the outbreak of COVID-19 caused global disruptions in air travel. In 2022, following the relaxation of travel restrictions, PIA witnessed a significant rebound in passenger traffic, recording nearly 4.3 million passengers throughout the year compared to 542,681 in 2021.

The PIA–KLIA route is one of the busiest air corridors in Malaysia, having flown 2.2 million passengers in 2019. Additionally, the PIA–Changi corridor is estimated to be the third busiest among Malaysia's ASEAN routes, with around 300,000 passengers flown throughout 2022.

While it processes the second largest cargo tonnage after KLIA, in terms of export value, PIA's is the highest of all Malaysian airports, with RM385 billion worth of exports passing through PIA in 2022 alone.

Ground transportation
Rapid Penang has provided four bus routes to and from Penang International Airport, connecting the airport with various parts of George Town.


 * 102: Penang International Airport-Penang National Park-Penang International Airport
 * 306: Penang International Airport-Penang General Hospital-Penang International Airport
 * 401: Teluk Kumbar-Weld Quay-Teluk Kumbar
 * 401E: Balik Pulau-Weld Quay-Balik Pulau

Incidents

 * 28 March 1981: The hijacked Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 206 refueled at Penang International Airport, during which the hijackers removed one of the passengers from the aircraft. The plane subsequently proceeded to Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok, where a standoff ensued with Thai authorities before the eventual storming by Indonesian special forces.
 * 9 November 1985: Drug traffickers Kevin J. Barlow and Brian G. S. Chambers were arrested at the airport while attempting to smuggle heroin into Australia. Both were later sentenced to death.