Brunei International Airport (BIA) (

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

: ''Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Brunei''; Jawi: لاڤڠن تربڠ انتارابڠسا بروني ) is the primary and only airport in the sovereign nation of

Brunei Darussalam Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by the ...

, on the island of

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

. Located near

Bandar Seri Begawan Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB; Jawi: بندر سري بڬاوان; ) is the capital city of Brunei. It is officially a municipal area () with an area of and an estimated population of 100,700 as of 2007. It is part of Brunei-Muara District, the sm ...

in the

Brunei-Muara District Brunei-Muara District ( ms, Daerah Brunei dan Muara; Jawi: برونائی-موارا ضلع) or simply Brunei-Muara is one of the four districts of Brunei. It has the smallest area among the four districts, with , yet is the most populous, wi ...

, it serves as the home base and hub for

Royal Brunei Airlines Royal Brunei Airlines Sdn Bhd (RB) ( ms, Penerbangan DiRaja Brunei, Jawi: ) is the national flag carrier airline of Brunei Darussalam, headquartered in the RB Campus in Bandar Seri Begawan. It is wholly owned by the Government of Brunei Da ...

(RB). Additionally, the

Royal Brunei Air Force The Royal Brunei Air Force (RBAirF) ( ms, Tentera Udara Diraja Brunei, abbreviation ''TUDB'') is the air force of the sultanate of Brunei. It is mainly based at the Rimba Air Force Base within the Brunei International Airport.Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

and

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

, as well as flights to the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

and

London Heathrow Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...

History

Commercial

air transport Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

in Brunei began in

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

, with the establishment of air service links connecting Brunei Town (present-day

) with Anduki in the

Belait District Belait District (; Jawi: دأيره بلأيت), or simply Belait (), is the largest as well as the westernmost district in Brunei. It has an area of and the population of 69,062 as of 2016. The administrative town is Kuala Belait, located at ...

. Initial flights linking Brunei to

British Malaya The term "British Malaya" (; ms, Tanah Melayu British) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. U ...

North Borneo North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo) was a British Protectorate, British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo, which is present day Sabah. The territory of North Borneo ...

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...

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, borde ...

, and overseas destinations were primarily provided by

Borneo Airways Borneo Airways Limited also known as Borneo Airways ( ms, Sharikat Penerbangan Borneo), was the flag carrier and the principal domestic airline in British Borneo (later constituting the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak and the country of ...

and

Malayan Airways 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 ...

. Airport services were operated from the Berakas area at an old

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

site built by the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It was known then as Brunei Airport. The growth in popularity of

air travel Air travel is a form of travel in vehicles such as airplanes, jet aircraft, helicopters, hot air balloons, blimps, gliders, hang gliders, parachutes, or anything else that can sustain flight.

in the 1970s resulted in a significant increase in

civil aviation Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military and non-state aviation, both private and commercial. Most of the countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization and work ...

. Suddenly, the old airport was swamped with activity, operating beyond its capacity. This situation prompted the government to scout for a new site to build a modern airport. A new airport was constructed in

Mukim Berakas A mukim is a type of administrative division used in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The word ''mukim'' is a loanword in English. However, it was also originally a loanword in Malay from the Arabic word: (meaning ''resident''). The cl ...

in the

, because this location was easily accessible from all areas of the country. The airport became operational in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

, and its runway was one of the longest runways in the

far east The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

. In

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, it was announced that a study to review necessary expansions and modifications was completed, and a masterplan was written up soon after. The masterplan consists of different phases, and Phase 1, which includes upgrading the existing passenger terminal building and the

cargo terminal A container port or container terminal is a facility where cargo containers are transshipped between different transport vehicles, for onward transportation. The transshipment may be between container ships and land vehicles, for example train ...

, is targeted to be completed by end of 2013. Phase 1A was already completed on 1 October 2013, with the opening of the new arrival hall. The capacity of the airport was to be increased to three million by end of 2014. After Phase 1 is completed, Phase 2 could be initiated in 2022, which includes the construction of a new terminal, which will be able to accommodate up to eight million passengers. Currently, the runway is being upgraded to allow bigger aircraft such as

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 ...

and

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...

to land easily.

Facilities

Brunei International Airport consists of an international terminal which can handle up to two million passengers, a cargo terminal with a capacity of 50,000 tonnes of cargo, and a royal terminal where the

sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

's flights are based. In

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, Brunei International Airport handled 1.3 million passengers. Inside the international terminal, there are 40 check-in counters, 12 emigration counters, and 14 immigration clearance counters. Concessionary traders inside the terminal include

Burger King Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based res ...

and

KFC KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...

international fast-food outlets,

Jollibee Jollibee is a Filipino chain of fast food restaurants owned by Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC). As of December 2021, JFC had a total of about 1,500 Jollibee outlets worldwide, with restaurants in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, East Asia ...

regional fast food, plus local 'concept stores' which include food, tea and coffee drinks, and jewellery stores, along with

Avis Avis is Latin for bird and may refer to: Aviation *Auster Avis, a 1940s four-seat light aircraft developed from the Auster Autocrat (abandoned project) *Avro Avis, a two-seat biplane *Scottish Aeroplane Syndicate Avis, an early aircraft built by ...

car rental desk. It also includes a VIP Lounge for business travellers. Brunei International Airport has car parking space for 1,440 cars, with a further 300 covered parking spaces. Other facilities at BIA include a post office, bank, the Department of Civil Aviation (located within the

air traffic control 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 airs ...

tower building), and the Brunei International Airport Mosque.

Access

The airport is located approximately 10 minutes from the centre of the capital. Along with personal car rental options, there are regular taxi services to and from the airport, with a journey time of approximately 15 minutes. There are also regular public bus services which go around the capital, taking approximately 30 minutes. , taxi fares range from BND$10.00 to BND$20.00, and the bus fare was BND$2.00 (requiring exact fare only, as no change will be given).

Airlines and destinations

Accidents and incidents

*On Saturday 6 September

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

, a brand new Dornier 228-212 (

registration Register or registration may refer to: Arts entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), th ...

: 9M-MIA,

MSN MSN (meaning Microsoft Network) is a web portal and related collection of Internet services and apps for Windows and mobile devices, provided by Microsoft and launched on August 24, 1995, alongside the release of Windows 95. The Microsoft Net ...

: 8217), operated by

(but owned by Merpati Intan of Malaysia), departed from Brunei International Airport on a scheduled flight bound for

Miri Airport Miri Airport is an airport located south east of Miri, Malaysia, Miri, a city in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. The airport is the sixth-busiest airport in Malaysia, and the second-busiest in Sarawak. Miri Airport is a major hub for MASWings T ...

(MYY/WBGR), Malaysia. Operating under

flight number In the aviation industry, a flight number or flight designator is a code for an airline service consisting of two-character airline designator and a 1 to 4 digit number. For example, "BA 98" is a British Airways service from Toronto-Pearson to ...

BI238, the aircraft took off from Brunei International Airport at Bandar Seri Begawan at local time 19:03, with ten bodies aboard (two crew, eight passengers). On approach to Miri, the crew requested

permission to land ''Permission to Land'' is the debut studio album released by British glam rock band the Darkness. The album was released in the United Kingdom on 7 July 2003 and in the United States on 16 September 2003. The album topped the UK Albums Chart an ...

, and were cleared for final approach on Miri runway 02. No reply from BI238 was received. The following morning at 07:10 local time, the wreckage of the Dornier (9M-MIA) was found; it had struck treetops, slammed midway into the slope of Lambir Hill at , south of Miri Airport. The aircraft was totally destroyed, and all ten souls onboard died. Subsequent investigation determined the cause of the incident be classified as '

Controlled Flight Into Terrain In aviation, a controlled flight into terrain (CFIT; usually ) is an aviation accidents and incidents, accident in which an airworthy aircraft, under aircraft pilot, pilot control, is unintentionally flown into the ground, a mountain, a body of ...

(CFIT) - Mountain'.

References

External links

Experience Brunei International Airport (BIA)
— official website from Civil-Aviation.gov.bn (via

Archive.org The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

)
Ministry of Transport and Infocommunications, Brunei DarussalamDepartment of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Transport and Infocommunications, Brunei DarussalamSkyVector aviation chart for Brunei International AirportSkyVector IFR chart for Brunei International AirportBrunei International Airport (BWN/WBSB) live flight arrivals and departures
— from FlightRadar24.com
Brunei International Airport (BWN/WBSB) live map
— from FlightRadar24.com * * {{Authority control 1974 establishments in Brunei Airports in Brunei

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...