KUALA LUMPUR: The Cabinet approved plans to convert Subang Airport into a premium city airport and aviation hub last week.
On Monday (Feb 6), Transport Minister Anthony Loke stated the Subang Airport Regeneration Plan (SARP) will transform the airport into a “regional aviation centre”.
Mr. Loke told local media that the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport will handle up to eight million people per year.
According to Malay Mail, Mr. Loke believes this would transform Subang Airport.
Mr. Loke informed local media that the rehabilitation plan will target seven regions. Commercial jet passenger flights for general aviation, business aviation, urban air mobility, and regional commercial flight operations are examples.
“The eventual aim would be to develop Subang Airport into a regional aviation hub with a maximum capacity of eight million yearly passengers, which will create thousands of high-value employment in Malaysia,” Mr Loke told The Star.
The Star claimed that Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) has two months to create a Subang Airport rehabilitation business plan.
On Monday, Mr. Loke told the Malay Mail that Subang Airport aims to resume scheduled commercial passenger and belly cargo flights using narrow body planes up to A320/B737 or comparable aircraft, which had been halted since 2002.
When the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) opened in 1998, Subang Airport progressively closed and jet engines were banned.
“One of the main policy changes is that the government is now permitting narrow-body aircraft to operate again in this airport, but for this to happen there must be rebuilding (of the airport terminals),” he told Malay Mail.
Mr. Loke highlighted that Subang Airport’s reconstruction is not meant to replace KLIA in Sepang but to make it a municipal airport that complements the international airport, the web site reported.
Last month, local media reported Tourism Minister Tiong King Sing requesting the Home Ministry to reduce KLIA’s two-hour immigration wait periods.
“If Malaysia wants to welcome tourists and make the country a competitive destination of choice, we need to tackle this situation as quickly as possible to avoid the Immigration Department being tarnished,” he allegedly stated.
He advised that KLIA hire bilingual workers and expand the facial recognition system to overseas tourists to reduce immigration queues.
According to New Straits Times, he suggested that the Immigration Department’s facial recognition system be expanded to all overseas visitors.
Info source – Channel News Asia