Malacca International Airport (formerly known as Batu Berendam Airport) is an airport located in
Batu Berendam, Malacca,
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 ...
. The airport serves the state of
Malacca
Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...
, as well as northern
Johor
Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, 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 ...
. The terminal complex is equipped with international-standard amenities that can handle 1.5 million passengers annually. The airport's 2135m runway allows
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington.
Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two un ...
and
Airbus A320
The Airbus A320 family is a series of Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus.
The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air F ...
operations.
History
The airport, which occupies of land, was built in 1952.
The airport and particularly its control tower bears historical significance as it was the same tower which guided the plane of
Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, to land from London on 20 February 1956. It was in Malacca that Tunku announced the date for the independence of then
Malaya
Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia:
Political entities
* British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...
from the United Kingdom. Considering the historical nature of this control tower, the Chief Minister of Malacca,
Mohd Ali Rustam
Tun Seri Setia Dr. Haji Mohd. Ali bin Mohd. Rustam ( ms, محمد علي بن محمد رستم, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; born 24 August 1949) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the 7th Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Malacca ...
is attempting to save the tower, by either relocating it, or by changing plans to incorporate the tower.
Between 2008 and 2014, the airport was served by
Sky Aviation which operated flights from
Pekanbaru
Pekanbaru is the capital of Indonesian province of Riau, and a major economic center on the eastern part of Sumatra, Sumatra Island. Its name is derived from the Malay language, Malay words for 'new market' ('pekan' is market and 'baru' is new). ...
five times per week.
["Air Asia di Melaka"]
"Mohd Ali Rustam's blog", 28 August 2008 Flights ceased in 2014 when Sky Aviation suspended all operations.
"The state government is also discussing with
Firefly
The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...
and AirAsia to serve various routes via the Malacca Airport".
Malaysia's hybrid airline,
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 ...
, launched four-weekly flights from the Malacca International Airport to
Penang
Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...
, Malaysia and
Pekanbaru
Pekanbaru is the capital of Indonesian province of Riau, and a major economic center on the eastern part of Sumatra, Sumatra Island. Its name is derived from the Malay language, Malay words for 'new market' ('pekan' is market and 'baru' is new). ...
, Indonesia on 4 November 2014.
In 2016, Indonesia's hybrid airline,
XpressAir
Xpress Air was a domestic regular airline that offered direct flights to the eastern parts of Indonesia, with its first flight in 2005, and from 2014 international routes to Malaysia. Beginning with two Boeing 737s, Xpress Air was the first priv ...
launched four-weekly flights from the Malacca International Airport to
Pekanbaru
Pekanbaru is the capital of Indonesian province of Riau, and a major economic center on the eastern part of Sumatra, Sumatra Island. Its name is derived from the Malay language, Malay words for 'new market' ('pekan' is market and 'baru' is new). ...
, Indonesia, on 29 April 2016.
China Southern Airlines launched an inaugural charter flight from Malacca International Airport to
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
, China, on 29 September 2016. By the end of 2016, China Southern Airlines stopped charter flights to Malacca.
The airport is also used as the base of the Malaysian Flying Academy (MFA), which has been operating out of the airport since 1987.
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 operate ...
group chief executive officer Tan Sri
Tony Fernandes
Anthony Francis Fernandes (born 30 April 1964) is a Malaysian entrepreneur. He is the founder of Tune Air Sdn. Bhd., which took over the first Malaysian budget airline, AirAsia. Fernandes turned AirAsia, a failing government-linked commerci ...
said he had discussed with Transport Minister Datuk Seri
Liow Tiong Lai in Putrajaya on 29 June 2016 for the potential of turning the Malacca International Airport into a
low-cost terminal. Fernandes said AirAsia wanted to use the Malacca airport but had been unable to convince
MAHB to allow AirAsia to use the airport.
AirAsia marked the arrival of its inaugural flight from Penang to the historical state of Malacca on 1 July 2019.
New terminal
Construction of a new terminal started on 1 April 2006. The runway was upgraded from , to and is now , allowing
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington.
Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two un ...
and
Airbus A320
The Airbus A320 family is a series of Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus.
The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air F ...
aircraft to take off. The terminal complex was replaced by a new terminal equipped with international-standard amenities. The
control tower
Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airsp ...
was replaced and complemented with advanced aeronautical devices. Both ends of the runway now contain facilities to guide night landing and better assure safety in bad weather conditions.
In May 2009, the new terminal was officially opened. The new terminal could handle 1.5 million passengers annually as opposed to the 30,000 of the old terminal. The airport was visited by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in February 2010. In his visit, he officially renamed the airport Malacca International Airport.
Facilities
APR-Aerospace Engineering has built a hangar in Malacca International Airport which can accommodate
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington.
Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two un ...
or
Airbus A320
The Airbus A320 family is a series of Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus.
The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air F ...
for Aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services, Aircraft modification and retrofits, Aircraft technical handling and ground support services, Aircraft spare support and pooling, Technical training on aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul and Structured On-the-Job Training for APR-ATC's TAME program. The hangar was completed in April 2016.
The major facilities that are found in this airport include taxi services, gift shops, cafe, duty-free outlets, conference rooms, multi-purpose meeting and event centre, wheelchair service, staff assistance and free
WiFi internet access.
Malacca International Airport is one of the seven airports 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 ...
that provide e-Visa facilities for Chinese tourists from September 2016 onwards.
Expansion and developments
In August 2015, Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announce that federal government is mulling a proposal to expand the Malacca International Airport, particularly in conjunction with the recent Cabinet endorsement of the southern state's "twin state" status with China's Guangdong city. Malacca International Airport will upgrade its runway, apron, aerobridge and taxiway.
In October 2016, Transport Minister Datuk Seri
Liow Tiong Lai said Malacca International Airport in Batu Berendam here may be relocated to accommodate larger aircraft like the
Boeing 777.
Liow said a decision will be reached by end of 2016 whether to move the airport to another location or remain at its present site based on the recommendation from an aviation consultant.
On 30 January 2017, State Transport, Project Rehabilitation and International Trade Committee chairman Datuk Lim Ban Hong said the runway of MIA will be extended to 2,500m following the decision by the Federal Government to extend the runway in a bid to accommodate larger aircraft without the need for land acquisitions while the work is expected to be completed in a short span of time. Expansion of Malacca International Airport will be completed in 2019.
On 27 November 2017, Malacca CM Idris Haron said Malacca International Airport is expected to upgrade next year (2018) with upgrade cost of RM74million (Under RM ke-11). The runway will upgrade from 2135m to 2665m and will build the taxiway and expand the apron as well.
On 20 September 2018, Malacca CM Adly Zahari announced that Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) will introducing a five-year rebate on passenger service charge (PSC) for flights from the Malacca International Airport (LTAM). Aside from the rebates, Adly said airline companies operating from LTAM will also be exempted from paying landing charges for a year. According to MAHB, the incentive was introduced as part of the group's efforts in working with the state government and airlines to promote tourism in the country.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Traffic and statistics
See also
*
List of airlines of Malaysia
This is a list of airlines in Malaysia. The airlines are sorted alphabetically by activeness and type.
Scheduled airlines
Charter Airlines
Cargo airlines
See also
* List of defunct airlines of Malaysia
* List of all airlines
* List of ...
*
List of airports in Malaysia
*
Busiest airports in Malaysia
The busiest airports in Malaysia are measured according to data presented by Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad. Among all top 20 busiest airports, the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is the only airport which can land the A380. KLIA also ...
References
External links
List of International Airports in Malaysia as Recognized by Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhad*
*
EZineer– A forum with regular updates on Expansion work progress
Batu Berendam Airport, Malaccaat
Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad
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 ...
Melaka Air can fly only after it obtains mandatory licences
Sky Aviation Flight ScheduleFirefly Flight Schedule
{{authority control
1952 establishments in Malaya
Airports established in 1952
Airports in Malaysia
Central Melaka District
Transport in Malacca