Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Airport

"KUA" redirects here. For other uses, see KUA (disambiguation).

Sultan Ahmad Shah Airport

Lapangan Terbang Sultan Ahmad Shah
Summary
Airport typePublic/military
OwnerGovernment of Malaysia
OperatorMalaysia Airports Holdings Berhad
ServesKuantan
LocationKuantan, Pahang, Malaysia
Time zoneMST (UTC+08:00)
Elevation AMSL55 ft / 17 m
Coordinates03°46′11″N 103°12′34″E / 3.76972°N 103.20944°E / 3.76972; 103.20944
Maps

Pahang state in Malaysia
KUA /WMKD
KUA /WMKD
KUA /WMKD (Malaysia)
KUA /WMKD
KUA /WMKD (Southeast Asia)
KUA /WMKD
KUA /WMKD (Asia)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
18/36 2,804 9,199 Asphalt
Statistics (2023)
Passenger176,100 ( 69.4%)
Airfreight (tonnes)28 ( 475.4%)
Aircraft movements1,827 ( 46.7%)
MAHB[1]
AIP Malaysia[2]

Sultan Ahmad Shah Airport (IATA: KUA, ICAO: WMKD) is an airport that serves Kuantan, a city in the state of Pahang, Malaysia. The airport is located 15 km from the city. In 2009, the airport handled 226,912 passengers on 3,110 flights, though the airport is able to handle over one million passengers annually.[3] In 2008, Taiwan and Tourism Malaysia co-operated so that there were 23 charter flights directly from Taipei to Kuantan Airport; this made Kuantan Sultan Ahmad Shah Airport the first airport on the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia that received international flights. Passengers have to walk from the aircraft to the arrival hall.

Co-located with the airport is RMAF Kuantan, housing 15 Squadron (BAE Hawk) and 17 Squadron (MiG-29) of the Royal Malaysian Air Force.

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
Malaysia AirlinesKuala Lumpur–International
ScootSingapore[4]

Traffic and statistics

Annual passenger numbers and aircraft statistics
Year
Passengers
handled
Passenger
% change
Cargo
(tonnes)
Cargo
% change
Aircraft
movements
Aircraft
% change
2003 351,179 64 4,054
2004 349,375 0.5 64 4,088 0.8
2005 298,184 14.6 75 17.2 3,757 8.1
2006 273,005 8.4 109 45.3 2,973 20.9
2007 262,486 3.8 103 5.5 3,487 17.3
2008 259,529 1.1 70 32.0 3,551 1.8
2009 226,912 12.6 70 3,110 12.4
2010 220,878 2.7 49 30.0 2,802 9.9
2011 248,846 12.7 38 22.4 3,452 23.2
2012 280,074 12.5 57 50.5 3,613 4.7
2013 317,440 13.3 86 51.2 3,663 1.4
2014 314,130 1.0 46 46.9 3,911 6.8
2015 292,109 7.0 21 55.2 4,174 6.7
2016 247,757 15.2 15 27.3 3,493 16.3
2017 241,314 2.6 25 65.3 2,893 17.2
2018 258,816 7.3 13 47.4 3,013 4.1
2019 394,599 52.5 2.8 78.4 4,082 35.5
2020 71,877 84.3 3.0 7.9 1,117 72.6
2021 21,251 70.4 3.0 439 60.7
2022 103,961 389.2 5.0 46.8 1,245 183.6
2023 176,100 69.4 28 475.4 1,827 46.7
Source: Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad[1]
Busiest flights out of Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Airport by frequency as of September 2023
Rank Destinations Frequency (weekly) Airlines Note
1 Kuala Lumpur 17 MH
2 Singapore 3 TR

Passenger facilities

The airport has an outdoor car park, a taxi stand, several small shops, an arrival hall and a departure hall. The front part of the building housing the shops and the check in counters are not air conditioned.

Proposed relocation

Proposals for relocating the airport have been recorded since 2015, with early suggestions for it to be either located nearer to the coast at Penor, or possibly around the same area of its original location. The operational capacity of the current airport is severely limited, mainly due to the nature of the airport being co-located with the RMAF Kuantan (which poses risks to national security) and also constraints of being surrounded by residential areas, both of which make it difficult to increase the frequency of flights and its capacity for expansion. Adding to this, the airport infrastructure is outdated, lacking any jet bridges, and is small, insufficient for larger crowds.

Following this, there are also demands to establish a regional hub for international flights in the East Coast Peninsular Region, as stated in the "Rancangan Fizikal Negara ke-4".[5]

The Menteri Besar of Pahang, Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail announced in July 2021 the development of a RM 10.5 billion aerospace city, integrating a new international airport with air cargo and MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) capabilities.[6] This project is to be headed by Pahang Corporation Sdn Bhd (Pahang Corp) on an area measuring 5,024 ha in Chendor, adjacent to the ECRL railway station at Cherating, which is expected to be completed by early 2027. The development of this airport is expected to coincide with the establishment of Kuantan Port as an international logistics and manufacturing hub. This will also allow the return of full control of the air force base to the RMAF.

An MoU was signed between Pahang Corp, Gading Group Sdn Bhd and Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) in 12 July 2022.[7] Construction is expected to commence in 2024 and the airport is expected to begin operations in 2026.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "A Breakthrough Year: Airport Statistics 2023" (PDF). mahb.listedcompany.com. Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
  2. ^ WMKD – KUANTAN AIRPORT Archived 27 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine at Department of Civil Aviation Malaysia
  3. ^ Sultan Ahmad Shah Airport, Kuantan official page at Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad
  4. ^ "Scoot to resume services to Pekanbaru and Kuantan". CAPA. 13 October 2022.
  5. ^ "Portal Rasmi PLANMalaysia - Rancangan Fizikal Negara". 103.42.207.1. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  6. ^ "Pahang to develop Aerospace City in Gebeng - MB". MIDA | Malaysian Investment Development Authority. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  7. ^ "Kuantan's new international airport to open in 2026". The Star. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  8. ^ "New Airport In Kuantan, Malaysia, Expected To Break Ground In 2024 | Aviation Week Network". aviationweek.com. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
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