Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is
Malaysia's main international airport. It is located in the
Sepang District
The Sepang District is a district located in the southern part of the state of Selangor in Malaysia. Sepang District covers an area of around 600 square kilometres, and had a population of 190,889 in the 2010 Census (excluding foreigners).
The ...
of
Selangor
Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...
, approximately south of
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, sub ...
and serves the
city's greater conurbation.
KLIA is the largest and busiest airport in
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. In 2020, it handled 13,156,363 passengers, 505,184 tonnes of cargo and 124,529 aircraft movements. It is the world's
23rd-busiest airport by total passenger traffic.
The airport is operated by
Malaysia Airports
Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad () is a Malaysian airport company that manages most of the airports in Malaysia. The firm was recently awarded the duty to manage airports in international destinations. It has its head office in the Malaysia ...
(MAHB) Sepang Sdn Bhd and is the major hub of
Malaysia Airlines
Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB; ms, Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad), formerly known as Malaysian Airline System (MAS; ), and branded as Malaysia Airlines, is the flag carrier airline of Malaysia and a member of the Oneworld airline alliance. (Th ...
,
MASkargo
MAB Kargo (''Malaysia Airlines Berhad Cargo''), operating as MASkargo and stylised as maskargo, is a cargo airline with its head office in the Advanced Cargo Centre (ACC) on the grounds of Kuala Lumpur International Airport ( WMKK/ KUL) in Sepa ...
,
Batik Air Malaysia
Batik Air Malaysia (formerly known as Malindo Air) is a Malaysian full service carrier, an associate carrier of Indonesian Lion Air Group, with headquarters in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. The original name Malindo signifies a cooperative ...
,
UPS Airlines
UPS Airlines is a major American cargo airline based in Louisville, Kentucky. The second-largest cargo airline worldwide ( in terms of freight volume flown), UPS Airlines flies to 815 destinations worldwide. A wholly owned subsidiary of UPS (Unit ...
and
World Cargo Airlines, and the major operating base of
AirAsia
Capital A Berhad, () operating as AirAsia (stylized as ''airasia'') is a Malaysian multinational low-cost airline headquartered near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the largest airline in Malaysia by fleet size and destinations. AirAsia operat ...
,
AirAsia X
AirAsia X (previously known as ''FlyAsianXpress Sdn. Bhd.''), is a long-haul budget airline based in Malaysia, and a sister company of AirAsia. It commenced operations on 2 November 2007 with its first service flown from Kuala Lumpur Internat ...
and
MYAirline
MYAirline is a low cost carrier based in Malaysia founded in 2021. It is headquartered in Subang Jaya, Selangor and primarily operates from KLIA2, the low-cost carrier terminal of Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The airline began its maide ...
.
History
Background
The ground breaking ceremony for Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) took place on 1 June 1993 when the government under
Mahathir Mohamad decided that the existing Kuala Lumpur airport, then known as
Subang International Airport (now
Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport) could not handle future demand. The construction of the airport was done mainly by a few state owned construction companies as well as Ekovest Berhad – helmed by Tan Sri Datuk
Lim Kang Hoo
Lim Kang Hoo ( zh, 林刚河, born 1956) is a Malaysian businessman and investor. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Iskandar Waterfront Holdings and Ekovest Berhad. Both corporations manage infrastructure construction projects, ...
. It was created as part of the
Multimedia Super Corridor, a grand development plan for Malaysia. The chief architect who designed the new airport terminal was the Japanese architect
Kisho Kurokawa
(April 8, 1934 – October 12, 2007) was a leading Japanese architect and one of the founders of the Metabolist Movement.
Biography
Born in Kanie, Aichi, Kurokawa studied architecture at Kyoto University, graduating with a bachelor's ...
.
Upon KLIA's completion, Subang Airport's Terminal 1 building was demolished.
Malaysia Airports
Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad () is a Malaysian airport company that manages most of the airports in Malaysia. The firm was recently awarded the duty to manage airports in international destinations. It has its head office in the Malaysia ...
agreed to redevelop the remaining Terminal 3 to create a specialist airport for turboprop and charter planes surrounded by a residential area and a business park.
The
IATA airport code KUL was transferred from Subang Airport, which currently handles only turboprop aircraft, general aviation and military aircraft.
Current site
![Klia entrance](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Klia_entrance.jpg)
The airport's site spans
2,
of former agricultural land and is one of the world's largest airport sites. An ambitious three-phase development plan anticipates KLIA to have three runways and two terminals each with two satellite terminals.
Phase One involved the construction of the main terminal and one satellite terminal, giving a capacity of 25 million passengers, and two full service runways. The Phase One airport had sixty contact piers, twenty remote parking bays with eighty aircraft parking positions, four maintenance hangars and fire stations. Phase Two, designed to increase capacity to 35 million passengers per year is largely complete. Phase Three is anticipated to increase capacity to 100 million passengers per year.
Grand opening
Kuala Lumpur International Airport was officially inaugurated by the tenth
Yang di-Pertuan Agong
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (, Jawi: ), also known as the Supreme Head of the Federation, the Paramount Ruler or simply as the Agong, and unofficially as the King of Malaysia, is the constitutional monarch and head of state of Malaysia. The o ...
,
Tuanku Ja'afar of
Negeri Sembilan, on 27 June 1998 at 20:30
MST. The first domestic arrival was
Malaysia Airlines
Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB; ms, Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad), formerly known as Malaysian Airline System (MAS; ), and branded as Malaysia Airlines, is the flag carrier airline of Malaysia and a member of the Oneworld airline alliance. (Th ...
flight MH1263 from
Kuantan
Kuantan ( Jawi: ) is a city and the state capital of Pahang, Malaysia. It is located near the mouth of the Kuantan River. Kuantan is the 18th largest city in Malaysia based on 2010 population, and the largest city in the East Coast of Peni ...
at 07:10 MST. The first international arrival was Malaysia Airlines flight MH188 from
Malé
Malé (, ; dv, މާލެ) is the capital and most populous city of the Maldives. With a population of 252,768 and an area of , it is also one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The city is geographically located at the southern ...
at 07:30 MST. The first domestic departure was Malaysia Airlines flight MH1432 to
Langkawi
Langkawi, officially known by its sobriquet Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah ( ms, Langkawi Permata Kedah ), is a duty-free island and an archipelago of 99 islands (plus five small islands visible only at low tide in the Strait of Malacca) loc ...
at 07:20 MST; the first international departure was Malaysia Airlines flight MH84 to
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
at 09:00 MST.
Inauguration
The inauguration of the airport was marked with numerous problems. The aerobridge and bay allocation systems broke down, with queues building up throughout the airport and the baggage handling breaking down. Bags were lost, and there were waits of over five to seven hours.
Most of these issues were remedied eventually, though the
baggage handling system was plagued with problems until it was put up for a complete replacement tender in 2007.
The airport suffered greatly reduced traffic with the general reduction in economic activity brought about by the
1997 Asian financial crisis,
SARS
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species, ''seve ...
,
bird flu
"Bird Flu" is an urumee melam-dance song by recording artist M.I.A. on her second studio album '' Kala'' (2007). It was released as a digital download in 2006 through XL Recordings under exclusive license to Interscope Records in the US. Cr ...
epidemic (
Avian flu
Avian influenza, known informally as avian flu or bird flu, is a variety of influenza caused by viruses adapted to birds. ), the
financial crisis of 2007–2008
Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fi ...
, the
2009 swine flu pandemic
The 2009 swine flu pandemic, caused by the H1N1 influenza virus and declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) from June 2009 to August 2010, is the third recent flu pandemic involving the H1N1 virus (the first being the 1918–1920 Sp ...
and the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. The airport is also largely overshadowed by the more internationally renowned
Changi Airport
Singapore Changi Airport, commonly known as Changi Airport , is a major civilian international airport that serves Singapore, and is one of the largest transportation hubs in Asia. As one of the world's busiest airports by international passe ...
located approximately to the south in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
, especially in regards to connecting flights by various airlines or Malaysians especially living in the southern parts of the country (e.g.
Johor
Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the northwest. Johor shares maritime ...
) preferring to travel via Changi rather than at KLIA.
The first year of opening immediately saw reduction of passenger numbers as some airlines, including
All Nippon Airways
, also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had m ...
(resumed on 1 September 2015),
British Airways
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport.
The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...
(reinstated on 28 May 2015 until 28 March 2021
),
Lufthansa (resumed between 28 March 2004
until 28 February 2016)
and
Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA) was a major American airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines, Inc. by a merger. The merger, approved on October 29, 2008, made Delta the largest airline in the world until the American Airlines ...
, terminated their loss-making services to KLIA. KLIA's first full year of operations in 1999, in its Phase One manifestation (capacity of 25 million passengers per year), saw only 13.2 million passengers.
Passenger numbers eventually increased to 21.1 million in 2004 and 47 million in 2013
— though short of the originally estimated 25 million passengers per year by 2003.
Runways
Kuala Lumpur International Airport has three parallel runways (14L/32R; 14R/32L; 15/33).
The current three runway system is capable of handling 78 landings per hour and is expected to increase to 108 landings per hour once upgrading of the Kuala Lumpur Flight Information Region is completed in 2019. These runways operate on different departure/arrival modes according to the air traffic requirements.
Operations and infrastructure
![KLIA Main Terminal](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/KLIA_Main_Terminal.jpg)
KLIA features a number of modern design features that assist in the efficient operation of the airport. It is one of the first Asia Pacific airports to become 100%
Bar Coded Boarding Pass
A boarding pass or boarding card is a document provided by an airline during airport check-in, giving a passenger permission to enter the restricted area of an airport (also known as the airside portion of the airport) and to board the airp ...
capable.
Malaysia Airlines
Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB; ms, Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad), formerly known as Malaysian Airline System (MAS; ), and branded as Malaysia Airlines, is the flag carrier airline of Malaysia and a member of the Oneworld airline alliance. (Th ...
;
AirAsia
Capital A Berhad, () operating as AirAsia (stylized as ''airasia'') is a Malaysian multinational low-cost airline headquartered near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the largest airline in Malaysia by fleet size and destinations. AirAsia operat ...
;
MASkargo
MAB Kargo (''Malaysia Airlines Berhad Cargo''), operating as MASkargo and stylised as maskargo, is a cargo airline with its head office in the Advanced Cargo Centre (ACC) on the grounds of Kuala Lumpur International Airport ( WMKK/ KUL) in Sepa ...
, a cargo airline; and
Malaysia Airports
Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad () is a Malaysian airport company that manages most of the airports in Malaysia. The firm was recently awarded the duty to manage airports in international destinations. It has its head office in the Malaysia ...
, the Malaysian Airports operator and manager; are headquartered on the property of KLIA. Malaysia Airlines also operates its Flight Management Building at KLIA.
Terminals
The airport is part of the KLIA Aeropolis, and is made up of two main terminals; the original terminal, KLIA Main and the new terminal 2, also known as KLIA2. KLIA Main was designed by Japanese architect
Kisho Kurokawa
(April 8, 1934 – October 12, 2007) was a leading Japanese architect and one of the founders of the Metabolist Movement.
Biography
Born in Kanie, Aichi, Kurokawa studied architecture at Kyoto University, graduating with a bachelor's ...
, with an emphasis of natural lighting within the airport complex. Spanning 38.4m along a grid pattern allowing for future expansions, the abstract symbolic architecture by the late Kisho Kurokawa encompasses the Islamic geometry and cutting-edge technology with the tropical rainforest in mind.
KLIA
Main Terminal Building
![MA737-800klia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/MA737-800klia.jpg)
The KLIA Main Terminal Building (MTB) now also referred to as KLIA Main is located in between the two runways. The floor area of the terminal covers and the building consists of 39 square roof units, which enables future expansion of the building. There are a total of 216 check-in counters, located in 6 different islands, identified by the letters A – M (excluding I). Multi check-in services are available, designed for the use of all passengers arriving, departing or in transit. Self check in facilities are available in this airport since 2007,
and
KLM
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally ''Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amste ...
was the first airline to use the
Common-use self-service
Common-use self-service or CUSS is a shared kiosk offering airport check-in to passengers without the need for ground staff. The CUSS can be used by several participating airlines in a single terminal.
The first major installation of CUSS for mult ...
kiosks.
The contact pier is an extension of the main terminal building with gates marked with prefix ''A'' and ''B'' for domestic departures, ''G'' and ''H'' for international flights. The gate allocation is based on operational requirements, although it has been observed that
Malaysia Airlines
Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB; ms, Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad), formerly known as Malaysian Airline System (MAS; ), and branded as Malaysia Airlines, is the flag carrier airline of Malaysia and a member of the Oneworld airline alliance. (Th ...
has been operating most of its operations out from the contact pier.
Satellite Terminal A
![Inside KUL Airport Satellite Terminal, July 2014 (1)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Inside_KUL_Airport_Satellite_Terminal%2C_July_2014_%281%29.jpg)
The satellite building accommodates international flights departing and arriving at KLIA. Passengers have to travel to the satellite building via the Aerotrain. There is a wide array of
duty-free shop
A duty-free shop (or store) is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods sold will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, wh ...
s and prestige brand boutiques in the satellite building. This includes international brands such as
Burberry
Burberry is a British luxury fashion house established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry headquartered in London, England. It currently designs and distributes ready to wear, including trench coats (for which it is most famous), leather accessorie ...
,
Harrods,
Montblanc,
Salvatore Ferragamo
Salvatore Ferragamo (5 June 1898 – 7 August 1960) was an Italian shoe designer and the founder of luxury goods high-end retailer Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A. An innovative shoe designer, Salvatore Ferragamo established a reputation in the 1930s. ...
, and
Hermes
Hermes (; grc-gre, wikt:Ἑρμῆς, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travelle ...
. Among all international labels available within the terminal, some boutiques such as
Harrods are only available in the airport. A number of restaurants and international airlines' lounges are available as well as an Airside Transit Hotel.
Within the terminal, wireless internet (
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wav ...
) is provided free of charge. The terminal also has prayer rooms, showers and massage service. Various lounge areas are provided, some including children's play areas and movie lounge, broadcasting movie and sport channels.
The terminal also features a natural
rainforest in the middle of the terminal, exhibiting the Malaysian rainforests.
Under Malaysia Airports Berhad retail optimisation plan, the retail space in satellite terminal A will be further optimised to increase its revenue derived from commercial space rental and a percentage of sale receipts to 50% by year 2010 which currently stands at 35%. Some notable improvements that will be seen after the refurbishments will be the Jungle Boardwalk which will be the first of its kind in the world and larger mezzanine floor to accommodate F&B outlets and viewing galleries.
The gates in Satellite Terminal A have the prefix ''C''. The Satellite A terminal has 27 boarding gates altogether.
KL City Air Terminal
KL City Air Terminal, sometimes known as Kuala Lumpur City Air Terminal or KL CAT, located at
KL Sentral, is a virtual extension of KL International Airport where city check-in services are provided. KL City Air Terminal is recognised by the
International Air Transport Association (IATA) and carries the IATA designation XKL. Currently there are only three airlines providing city check-in services, they are
Cathay Pacific,
Malaysia Airlines
Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB; ms, Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad), formerly known as Malaysian Airline System (MAS; ), and branded as Malaysia Airlines, is the flag carrier airline of Malaysia and a member of the Oneworld airline alliance. (Th ...
and
Malindo Air
Batik Air Malaysia (formerly known as Malindo Air) is a Malaysian full service carrier, an associate carrier of Indonesian Lion Air Group, with headquarters in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. The original name Malindo signifies a cooperative ...
.
KLIA2 (Terminal 2)
![Logo of the KLIA2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Logo_of_the_KLIA2.svg)
Built at approximately RM4 billion, it is the largest purpose-built terminal optimised for low-cost carriers in response to the exponential growth of low-cost travel in the region. It was built to replace the previous Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT). KLIA2 began its operations on 2 May 2014, and all flight operations at LCCT were moved to KLIA2 by 9 May 2014.
As part of its development, a third runway (Runway 15/33) and a new air traffic control tower (Tower West) were built to support its operation. klia2 has an initial capacity of 45 million passengers per year. The terminal has a built-up area of 257,845 sqm with 68 departure gates, 10 remote stands, 80 aerobridges, includes a retail space of 32,000 sqm to accommodate a total of 220 retail outlets. The main terminal building of klia2 is connected with its satellite piers with a skybridge, making it the first airport in Asia with such facility. klia2 is certified with Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED).
![KLIA2 international departure hall 2016 September 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/KLIA2_international_departure_hall_2016_September_1.jpg)
Check-in counters are divided into 8 rows located in 4 islands, each row identified by the letters S – Z. Boarding gates are located in 5 piers, indicated by the letters ''J'' and ''K'' for domestic flights, and ''L'', ''P'' and ''Q'' for international flights. Piers J, K and L are connected directly to the main terminal building, while Piers P and Q are accessible via the skybridge. Piers K and L are physically the same pier and share the same gates, but with waiting lounges on different levels (Level 1A for K and Level 2 for L). For international flights, the access door from Pier K is sealed off, while for domestic flights, the access door from Pier L is sealed off instead.
At present, inter-terminal connection is provided on the landside at Gateway@klia2 complex and there are provisions for future airside inter-terminal connection.
Gateway@klia2
Gateway@klia2 is an integrated shopping complex that is connected to the main klia2 terminal building. It has a 350,000 square feet of net lettable space spanning over four levels. The transport hub at Gateway@klia2 links
klia2
Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is Malaysia's main international airport. It is located in the Sepang District of Selangor, approximately south of Kuala Lumpur and serves the city's greater conurbation.
KLIA is the largest and b ...
to the
KLIA Ekspres
The ERL KLIA Ekspres is an express airport rail link servicing the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Malaysia. It runs from KL Sentral, the main railway station of Kuala Lumpur to KLIA as well as its low-cost terminal, klia2. The ...
and
KLIA Transit
The ERL KLIA Transit is a commuter rail service which serves as an airport rail link to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Malaysia. It runs from KL Sentral, the main railway station of Kuala Lumpur to KLIA as well as its low-co ...
service, with allotted pick-up and drop-off areas for coaches, taxis, rented vehicles and private transportation.
Gateway@klia2 hosts an 8-storey car park that directly adjoins klia2. There are 6,000 covered parking lots at Blocks A and B and another 5,500 lots at car park D
KLIA2 parking rate. Shuttle buses are available to take the public from the car park D to the terminal. The first capsule transit hotel in Asia named as the ''Capsule by Container Hotel'' is also located at Gateway@klia2. Gateway@klia2 is managed by WCT Holdings Berhad.
Former Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT)
The now defunct
low cost carrier terminal (LCCT) was opened at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on 23 March 2006 to cater for the growing number of users of low-cost airlines, especially the passengers of Malaysia's "no-frills" airline, AirAsia. The terminal was designed and built in accordance to the
low cost carrier business model, with limited terminal amenities. As requested by the low-cost airlines, the terminal did not provide
aerobridge
A jet bridge (also termed jetway, jetwalk, airgate, gangway, aerobridge/airbridge, skybridge, finger, airtube, expedited suspended passenger entry system (E-SPES), or its official industry name passenger boarding bridge (PBB)) is an enclosed, ...
s, nor were there transfer facilities, rail connections, and the other facilities provided in a fully-fledged terminal. LCCT was located within the Air Support Zone; it ceased operations on 9 May 2014, and all low-cost carrier flights subsequently operated out of KLIA2.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Cargo
Statistics
Ground transportation
Inter-terminal transportation
![KLIA Aerotrain2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/KLIA_Aerotrain2.jpg)
The
Aerotrain Aerotrain may refer to:
* Aérotrain, a hovercraft train developed in France
* AeroTrain, an tiltrotor aircraft proposed by Karem Aircraft
* Aerotrain (GM), a passenger train built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division
* AeroTrain (Washington ...
is an
automated people mover
A people mover or automated people mover (APM) is a type of small scale automated guideway transit system. The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks. ...
(APM) that connects the airside of KLIA Main Terminal Building (MTB) and the Satellite Building. Each 250-person capacity train can transport 3,000 passengers per hour in each direction at up to 56 km/h (35 mph). These three-car driverless trains run on elevated rail and under the taxiways. The journey takes under two minutes. The Aerotrain operates between three and five-minute intervals between terminal. Automatic train controls manage the operation of the entire Aerotrain system, controlling the speeds, headways, stops and door openings in stations, and integrating functions that enhance the reliability and performance of the system.
External connections
Rail
Kuala Lumpur International Airport is linked to the
KL Sentral transportation hub in the city centre by the long
Express Rail Link
The Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd is a company that owns and operates the airport rail link of the same name that connects the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) with the Kuala Lumpur Sentral (KL Sentral) transportation hub, 57 kilometres apa ...
(ERL). There are two ERL stations at the airport:
KLIA station at the Main Terminal Building and
klia2 station at Gateway@klia2.
= Bus
=
Kuala Lumpur International Airport has bus terminals in both KLIA and KLIA2 building which serves local buses, city express and intercity express buses to various destination in Kuala Lumpur, Klang Valley and also various parts of Peninsular Malaysia, as well as shuttles between KLIA and KLIA2, terminals to Long Term Car Park and terminals to Mitsui Outlet Park. KLIA bus terminal is located on Ground Floor, Block C and KLIA 2 bus terminal is located on Level 1 of the terminal. Ticketing counters are present in the terminals.
Buses to the Kuala Lumpur city mainly goes to
KL Sentral railway station and
Integrated Southern Terminal bus terminal (TBS), both a prominent transport hub of Kuala Lumpur, as well as various other places like Pudu Sentral, Jalan Ipoh and Jalan Pekeliling Terminal. There are also buses to parts of other Klang Valley cities like
Shah Alam
Shah Alam () is a city and the state capital of Selangor, Malaysia and situated within the Petaling District and a small portion of the neighbouring Klang District. Shah Alam replaced Kuala Lumpur as the capital city of the state of Selangor ...
(Section 17 terminal),
Klang (AEON Bukit Tinggi) as well as
Putra Heights LRT station
Putra Heights is a Klang Valley Rapid Transit station in Putra Heights in the southern Subang Jaya. The station are the southern terminus for the Sri Petaling Line and Kelana Jaya Line. The station is located on the intersection of Persiaran Pu ...
. Popular providers are Aerobus, Airport Coach and Jetbus.
Intercity services are available to
Penang,
Ipoh,
Yong Peng
Yong Peng is a town in Mukim Tanjung Semberong, Batu Pahat District, Johor, Malaysia. It has an area of 1911.6 hectares with an estimated population of 29,046.
History
During the reign of Sultan Abu Bakar of Johor and under the influence o ...
(central Johor),
Johor Bahru,
Malacca and
Sitiawan
Sitiawan (alternate spelling: Setiawan; origin: from Malay, a portmanteau of '' Setia Kawan'', meaning "Loyal Friend") is a mukim and town in Manjung District, Perak, Malaysia.
The region spans an area of . In the year 2000, the populat ...
(Perak). Local buses are also available to
Nilai
Nilai is a town located in Seremban District, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, close to the border with Selangor. It is the northern suburb within the Seremban metropolitan area.
Due to its proximity to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, it ...
and
Banting, with SmartSelangor free shuttle available to Banting,
Tanjung Sepat and
Salak Tinggi
Salak Tinggi ( Jawi: سالق تيڠڬي; ) is a town in Sepang District, Selangor, Malaysia. Located about 9 km north of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, it is the seat of the Sepang district's administration.
Due to its proximity to th ...
.
= Car
=
Kuala Lumpur International Airport is mainly served by tolless
KLIA Expressway (Federal Route 26) which is an 11 kilometre direct road from KLIA Interchange of
ELITE Expressway (E6) to both KLIA and KLIA2. The expressway also has connection to:
* KLIA Outer Ring Road (Federal 27) to KLIA mosque and Sepang International Circuit
* Labohan Dagang–Nilai Road (Federal 32) to Banting, Nilai and Salak Tinggi
The further end of the expressway leads to tolled
ELITE Expressway, which connects it to the PLUS expressway networks (E1
North-South Expressway-North, E1
New Klang Valley Expressway
The New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE), designated E1, is a controlled-access highway located entirely within the Klang Valley region of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur in Peninsular Malaysia. The expressway begins at the settlement of Bukit Raja nea ...
and E2
North-South Expressway-South) which links to most of Klang Valley's major townships and further to Peninsular Malaysia's west coast states, to the extent of the border with Thailand and Singapore.
Expansion and developments
Plans
![KLIAAeropolis](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/KLIAAeropolis.jpg)
With the slight modification of the masterplan, the future Terminal 2's satellite terminal will be combined into one satellite terminal. The expansion of Terminal 2's satellite terminal will be exactly the same as Terminal 1's (the current Main Terminal) satellite terminal, where initially the satellite terminal will have four arms, and another four arms when the terminal reached its capacity. There is sufficient land and capacity to develop facilities to handle up to 97.5 million passengers a year, four runways by 2020 and two mega-terminals, each linked with satellite terminals.
A380 upgrades
The operator of Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad, had spent about RM135 million (approx) to upgrade facilities at the KL International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang to accommodate the
Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner.
Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was annou ...
. KLIA is the only airport in Malaysia that accommodate the landing and take off of the A380. Upgrading works started on 3 April 2006, and was completed by 28 May 2007. Works include the provision of shoulders on both sides of the two existing runways of 15 meters as well as the taxiways, building additional aerobridges at the three departure halls, namely C17, C27 and C37, and enhancing the mezzanine lounges for upper deck passengers of the aircraft at the departure halls.
Emirates
Emirates may refer to:
* United Arab Emirates, a Middle Eastern country
* Emirate, any territory ruled by an emir
** Gulf emirates, emirates located on the Persian Gulf
** Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, the individual emirates
* The Emirat ...
operates flights to Kuala Lumpur with the
Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner.
Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was annou ...
commenced on 1 January 2012.
Malaysia Airlines
Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB; ms, Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad), formerly known as Malaysian Airline System (MAS; ), and branded as Malaysia Airlines, is the flag carrier airline of Malaysia and a member of the Oneworld airline alliance. (Th ...
also started its A380 services from Kuala Lumpur to London on 1 July 2012.
References
External links
*
*
Gateway@klia2 website
{{Authority control
Airports established in 1998
1998 establishments in Malaysia
MSC Malaysia
Buildings and structures in Selangor
Transport in the Klang Valley