Kuala Lumpur International Airport

Kuala Lumpur International Airport Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kuala Lumpur 吉隆坡国际机场
The KLIA control tower and part of the airport
IATA: KUL ICAO: WMKK
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Malaysia Airports (Sepang) Sdn Bhd
Location	Sepang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Elevation AMSL	71 ft / 21 m
Coordinates	2°44′44″N 101°42′35″E
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 14L/32R 13,530 4,124 Concrete 14R/32L 13,288 4,050 Concrete

Kuala Lumpur International Airport (IATA: KUL, ICAO: WMKK) (simplified Chinese:吉隆坡国际机场) or commonly known as KLIA is one of Asia's major aviation hubs, along with Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, Hong Kong International Airport and Singapore Changi Airport. It is also Malaysia's main international airport. It is situated in Sepang district, in the south of the state of Selangor, about 50 kilometres (31 mi) from the capital city, Kuala Lumpur. Built at a cost of some US$3.5 billion, KLIA was opened on 27 June 1998.

Kuala Lumpur International Airport is capable of handling 35 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo a year in its current phase. It is currently ranked as the 13th busiest airport in the world by international passenger traffic and one of Asia's busiest airport where it has handled 24,129,748 passengers in the year of 2006, a 5.9% increase over 2005 fiscal year. In the same year, Kuala Lumpur International Airport has handled 677 446 metric tonnes of cargo or 3.6% increase in volume over year 2005. The increase in cargo volume made Kuala Lumpur International Airport entry to being one of the busiest airport by cargo traffic, ranked 30th among all other airports.

The airport is operated by Malaysia Airports (MAHB) Sepang Sdn Bhd and is the airline hub or home base for Malaysia Airlines, MASkargo, AirAsia and AirAsia X. KLIA is also the stopover point for the kangaroo route for Malaysia Airlines, as well as KLM. KLM operates the kangaroo route by feeding European passengers in Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Australia and New Zealand on Malaysia Airlines operated flights. Jetstar, the low cost offshoot of Australia's Qantas is also considering making Kuala Lumpur International Airport as their hub for long haul flights.

Kuala Lumpur International Airport is serving Klang Valley Metropolitan Region, Greater Klang Valley, Shah Alam, Malacca, Selangor and South Perak. With the large catchment area, the airport became one of the key economic strength for the nation, where it is well connected expressways to all parts of Malaysia, some of the highly industralized areas like Shah Alam and the information and communications technology hub, Multimedia Super Corridor. It is one of the important component in the economy of Malaysia as the airport is the main import-export center for the country.

The IATA airport code, KUL was inherited from the previous international gateway for Malaysia, Subang International Airport, which currently handles only turboprop aircrafts only.

History

Satellite Terminal

The planning of KLIA began in 1990 when the government decided that the existing Subang International Airport (now Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport) could not handle future demand. Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad was a prime driver behind the project, which was seen as an important component of the Multimedia Super Corridor.

The decision was controversial. The location, over 51 km from Kuala Lumpur, was viewed as inconvenient; the cost ballooned from original estimates; critics alleged that, contrary to the government's assertions, Subang could still be expanded. Indeed, work on Subang continued simultaneously with KLIA's construction. Subang's new Terminal 3 was opened in December 1993 and Terminal 2 was refurbished in 1995, only three years before KLIA's opening.

With the airport site spanning 100 km², it is one of the largest airport sites in the world. It is built on a piece of agricultural land and required no demolition of private property. The master plan of Kuala Lumpur International Airport involves constructing five runways, and two terminals accompanied by two satellite terminals for each terminal over three phases. Phase One development includes constructing one main terminal accompanied by one satellite terminal that is enough to accommodate 25 million passengers and dual full service runways. Under the implementation of Phase One, sixty contact piers, twenty remote parking bays with eighty aircraft parking positions, four maintenance hangars and fire stations will be built. Implementation of phase two and three will be expansions of the airport to include increasing number of passengers. Ultimately, the airport will be able to handle 100 million passengers per annum once all three phases are implemented.

With the workforce of 25,000 workers working 24 hours a day, the airport was built within four and half years. The airport was officially inaugurated on June 27, 1998, a week ahead of Hong Kong International Airport, but flights were shifted from Subang only three days later on June 30. The first domestic arrival was Malaysia Airlines's MH1263 from Kuantan (Kuantan Airport) at 7.10am and first international passenger jet arrival was Malaysia Airlines's MH188 from the Maldives at 7.30am.

Check-in counters

The inauguration of the airport was marked with problems. Aerobridge and bay allocation systems broke down, queues formed throughout the airport, and baggage handling broke down, with lost bags and waits of over five hours. Most of these issues were sorted out eventually, but the baggage handling system continued to be plagued with problems, and it was finally put up for a new complete replacement tender in 2007.

The airport also had to contend with the East Asian financial crisis, SARS and Bird Flu Epidemic (Avian Flu) which decimated passenger traffic in Malaysia and the region. Passenger growth was negative during the financial crisis and airlines that had started flights to KLIA including All Nippon Airways, British Airways, Lufthansa and Northwest Airlines, terminated their services due to unprofitability. The first phase of the airport was designed with a capacity of 25 million passengers per year but on the first full year of operations in 1999, it saw only 13.2 million. However, traffic did eventually increase with 21.1 million passengers recorded in 2004 and 23.2 million in 2005 — although this, too, fell short of the original estimate of 25 million by the year 2003.

The name Kuala Lumpur International Airport was previously used as an alternative name for the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport (SZB) in Subang.

Expansion and Developments

Plans

KLIA Aeropolis Masterplan

Under the new Kuala Lumpur International Airport Masterplan, a new runway and a new satellite building will be constructed to accommodate the increasing number of passengers. The airport Phase 2 development plan is to handle 40 million (5 Million) passengers per year by 2008 with the expansion of low cost carrier terminal. For phase 3, the airport will expand to handle 75 million (35 million) passengers per annum with the construction of a new satellite terminal and replacement of current low cost carrier terminal with a new low cost carrier terminal that capable of handling 30 million passengers alone. Phase 4, the airport will be capable to 130 million passengers per annum by 2020.

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 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 100 million passengers a year, four runways by the year 2020 and two mega-terminals, each liked with satellite terminals. The airport's vicinity will include hiking trails for jet-lagged travelers, golf courses, convention center, a theme park, a shopping center, hotels, and a wetlands nature preserve. Sepang International Circuit, which hosts Formula 1 and MotoGP races, is also nearby. There has also been a proposal for a monorail link to the F1 circuit. The development plan is due to be ready by April 2008.

In November 2006, the Malaysian government announced that it had approved in principal the construction of a rail link between the main terminal building and the low cost carrier terminal. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2007. There were however no details of which company would carry out the project, nor was there an indication that it would be directly connected to the existing airport high-speed train Express Rail Link

Summary of Kuala Lumpur International Airport Masterplan

Phase	Year	Description
Phase 1	1998	Initial Capacity of 25 Million Passenger Per Annum
	2006	Capable of Handling 35 Passengers per annum with the construction of Low Cost Carrier Terminal
Phase 2	2008	Expansion of Low Cost Carrier Terminal to accommodate 40 Million Passengers Per Annum
Phase 3	2012	New Low Cost Carrier Terminal will be constructed to accommodate additional 30 Million Passengers Per Annum, Current Low Cost Carrier Terminal converted for other usage.
	Not fixed	Satellite Terminal B will be constructed to handle maximum of 75 Million Passengers. (One terminal accompanied by 2 satellite terminal and one low cost carrier terminal)
Phase 4	Not fixed	Terminal 2 will be constructed so that the airport is capable to handle 130 million passengers.

LCCT Extension and New LCCT

With an increasing number of passengers using the Low Cost Carrier Terminal, Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad (MAHB), the company managing KLIA has approved Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) expansion beginning early 2007 to accommodate more passengers as the current LCCT is nearly in full capacity. The expansion of LCCT also shows the support for launch of Malaysia's first long haul low cost carrier, AirAsia X by making the terminal able to accommodate wide-bodied aircraft that are used by AirAsia X However, the Low Cost Carrier Terminal is a temporary solution for budget travellers, MAHB has submitted a proposal to the Transport Ministry to build a new, permanent LCC hub in between the main terminal building and satellite building A to replace the present Low Cost Carrier terminal.

The airport operator has announced that the construction works for the extension of LCCT will begin in March 2008 and expected to complete by December 2008. The capacity for the LCCT will increase from 10 million passengers a year to 15 million passengers a year. A proposal for a more permanent building to house a new LCCT has been submited and expected to have a capacity for 30 million passengers a year. It is also expected that the new LCCT will be completed by 2011 to 2012. It is expected that the current LCCT will be converted in to a cargo hub once the new terminal is completed.

A380 Upgrades

The operator of Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad, had spend about RM135 million (approx US$39 million) to upgrade facilities at the KL International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang to accommodate the Airbus A380. Upgrading works started on April 3, 2006 and was completed by May 28, 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.

Operations and infrastructure

Design

The concept of KLIA's terminal building area was prepared by the late Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa. The terminal building area was designed using the concept of Airport in the forest, forest in the airport, in which it is surrounded by green space. This was done with the co-operation of the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia. An entire section of rain forest was transplanted from the jungle and put in the satellite building.

The airport is designed to handle up to 100 million passengers per year. It has colour coded signage in Malay, English, Chinese, Japanese and Arabic and an automated people mover and travelators to allow easy movement in the airport.

The runways and buildings cover an area of 100 square kilometres. With its 75 ramp stands, it is capable of handling 120 aircraft movements at a time. There are 216 check-in counters, arranged in six check-in aisles. The airport is the first in the world to use the Total Airport Management Systems (TAMS).

Air traffic control tower

The iconic KLIA Control Tower

There are two air traffic control towers at Kuala Lumpur International Airport: the main control tower and apron control tower. The main control tower is 130 meters tall and is the second tallest air traffic control tower in the world, after Suvarnabhumi Airport's control tower. Shaped like an Olympic torch, it houses the air traffic control systems and radar equipment.

The 55 meter apron control tower is responsible for the provision of Air Traffic Service to aircraft and vehicles movement in the northern and southern parts of the Satellite Terminal building and the cargo apron areas.

Air Traffic Control frequencies:

• Lumpur Clearance Delivery - 126.00 MHz
• Lumpur Ground - 121.65 MHz, 121.80 MHz, 229 MHz
• Lumpur Tower - 118.50 MHz, 118.80 MHz, 229 MHz
• Lumpur Approach - 119.45 MHz, 124.20 MHz 125.1 MHz, 230.0 MHz, 232.2 MHz
• ATIS - 126.45 MHz

Runways

KLIA has two parallel runways, 14L/32R and 14R/32L, both are over 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) long and 75 metres (246 ft) wide. Each runway also has 10 taxiways exit with the taxi time ranging from 2 minutes to 11 minutes. The two full-service runways can handle 120 movements per hour when one runway handles taking off and one runway handles landing. Each runway is also equipped with one completely parallel taxiway with a second parallel taxiway. Unlike airports in temperate countries which often have low visibilty as low as 200 metres (660 ft) that requires higher Instrument Landing System category to guide landing of an aircraft, the airport has CAT II Precision Landing ILS to guide landing aircraft safely under all weather conditions with visibility as low as 350 metres (1,150 ft). The runways at KLIA are able to accommodate the Airbus A380. Future expansion of the KLIA Master Plan includes the addition of another two runways and one optional runway.

Baggage handling system (BHS)

KLIA's conveyor belts

KLIA's baggage handling system features baggage common check-in at any of the 216 counters on a 24-hour basis and incorporates automatic bar-code sorting control, 4 level in-line baggage security screening and high speed conveyor belts.

The BHS was built by Toyo Kanetsu and in 2006 a contract to extend the system from the satellite building to the ERL (Express Rail Link) platform in the Main Terminal Building was awarded to Siemens. The new system from Siemens will transport baggage between the two terminals at speeds of up to 36 km per hour, compared to the previous rate of 7.2 km per hour. The new system uses a high-speed tray conveyor system in which bags are placed on individual trays for better control and tracking at high speed compared to conventional belt conveyors enables the baggage to be checked-out in KL Sentral once the operator of KLIA Express, ERL Berhad introduce the new facility..

Baggage is handled by two companies, namely Malaysia Airlines and Kuala Lumpur Airport Services (KLAS). The Malaysia Airlines System handles most airlines landing at KLIA whereas KLAS also handles the remaining airlines.

IATA had agreed to facilitate the usage of RFID tags between KL International Airport and Hong Kong Airport after the launch of the world's smallest multiband RFID chip in Kuala Lumpur. KLIA will be the second airport to use RFID

The RFID baggage tagging trial between Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Hong Kong International Airport is completed. Baggage tags are being issued at both Malaysia Airlines and Cathay Pacific check-in counters. The trial was delayed due to problems obtaining printers. Furthermore, KLIA is now awaiting reports from IATA which scheduled to be released first quarter of 2008.

Some of the facilities of the baggage handling system include:

• 8 short-term car park baggage check-in counters
• 8 bus and train stations baggage check-in counters
• 3 stage baggage security screening system
• Early check-in baggage storage (1,200 bags capacity)
• 17 baggage reclaim carousels together with LCCT
• 33 km total length of conveyor belts
• Part of the belts travel through a 1.1 km tunnel from the Main Terminal Building to the Satellite Building

Fire and rescue

Operations and Statistics
Departure lounge with large windows for light and aircraft viewing.
Operational statistics
Passenger movements
1998	6,524,405	2003	17,454,564
1999	13,172,635	2004	21,058,572
2000	14,732,876	2005	23,213,926
2001	14,538,831	2006	24,570,385
2002	16,398,230	2007
Airfreight movements in tonnes (tons)
1998	156,641	2003	586,195
1999	417,068	2004	651,747
2000	510,594	2005	653,654
2001	440,864	2006	677,446
2002	527,124	2007
Aircraft movements
1998	64,123	2003	139,590
1999	116,589	2004	164,483
2000	109,925	2005	182,537
2001	113,590	2006	183,869
2002	127,952	2007

Airport Fire and Rescue Services (AFRS) are provided to cope with aircraft accidents. There are two fire stations at the airport, which are:

• Fire Station 1, built on 170,000 sq ft (16,000 m²) has total floor area of 11,400 sq ft (1,060 m²) with steel structures consisting of 2 floors.

• Fire Station 2, built on 60,500 sq ft (5,620 m²) has total floor area of 12,900 sq ft (1,200 m²) with steel structures consisting of 2 floors.

Both fire stations are equipped with fire and emergency rescue equipments. There are total of 7 Ultra Large Foam Tender, Ziegler 8-(8x8) vehicles costing RM 3.8 million each, 1 Command and control, 1 Turntable ladder, 1 First-aid vehicle, 2 Water tenders, 1 Officer-in-charge vehicle, and 1 Rescue tender in use for both fire stations.

Kuala Lumpur International Airport is the world's second airport to be equipped with explosive goods diffusion chamber, after Munich International Airport. Diffusion of highly explosive goods can be made safely in these two chambers which cost about RM 1.6 million each.

Air cargo

The KLIA Advance Cargo Center covers 108 acres (0.4 km²) of land and can handle one million tonnes of cargo per annum, with the capability to expand to 3 million tonnes/year. The center is designed as an integrated transshipment hub within a Free Commercial Zone. Fueled by high economic growth in the South East Asian countries and China, the airport handled 672,888 tonnes of air cargo in 2006, a 5.9% growth over the 2005 fiscal year.

Applying new information technologies, the main operator of the center, MASKargo introduced various artificial intelligence systems to handle cargo such as KLIA Community System (KLIACS) and e-Invoicing and Payment. It pioneered the DagangNET System, allowing users to conduct trade declarations and applying permits over the internet and speeding the approval process by controlling authorities. These systems will be linked the Total Airport Management System.

Kuala Lumpur International Airport one of the world's busiest airports by cargo traffic in 2006 Airports Council International statistics.

Animal hotel

Main article: Animal Hotel

The animal hotel is operated by Malaysia Airlines's cargo arm, MASKargo. The hotel manages all imports, exports and stop-over transhipments that are related to animals, and offers a pets stay-in program where owners can leave their pets to in the hotel while they are away for vacations.

Security and security surcharges

The airport's security comes under the purview of the Polis Bantuan Malaysia Airports Berhad or Malaysia Airports Berhad Auxiliary Police. They are trained at Malaysia Airport Training Centre (MATC), Penang. Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, airport security has been increased with more stringent checks at security checkpoints, and upgrading to more sophisticated x-ray equipment and surveillance systems. The auxiliary policemen in KLIA wear the same blue uniform and insignia as their counterparts in PDRM, which is a common practice among the auxiliary police corp in Malaysia. The only difference is that they wear a shoulder patch with the Malaysia Airports Berhad company logo with the wordings Polis Bantuan or Auxiliary Police embroidered under it. A security surcharge has been introduced to bear part of the cost.

In view of the heightened security alert at airports in the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US), security screening checks have been stepped up on passengers and their hand luggage, as well as for checked-in luggage on flights bound for destinations in the UK and the US from Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

International and domestic travelers departing the airport must pay RM 6 for international departures and RM 3 for domestic departures levied by the airport operator, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad. The surcharge will be collected as part of the cost of tickets.

Ground Handling of an KLM Combi 747

Aircraft maintenance

There are four hangars housing facilities to provide aircraft maintenance provided by Malaysia Airlines and Kuala Lumpur Airport Service (KLAS). The airport also has a hangar which is purposely built for the A380, the first in south east Asia. The construction of the hangar was completed in 2007.

Meteorological services

The Aeronautical Meteorological Station (AMS) is located near Runway 14R-32L which provides weather information for the aviation community in compliance with International Civil Aviation Organization standards. AMS constantly make weather observations and issues aerodrome warnings on adverse weather for protection of aerodrome facilities and aircraft on the ground. The AMS houses a Meteorological Data Processing System (MDPS) for weather data collection, processing, storage and analytical needs. The MDPS is composed of various meteorological processing components such as radar, workstation, servers, satellite systems and briefing terminals.

Terminals

The Passenger Terminal Complex (PTC) was built with an emphasis on allowing natural light into the building. Thus, there is a huge expanse of glass throughout the building, and the spectacular roof has cut-outs for natural light to filter in. The PTC comprises three buildings - the Main Terminal Building, the Satellite Building and the Contact Pier. Besides the 80-room hotel at the Satellite Building, there is a 450-room 5-star Pan Pacific KLIA hotel a 5-10 minute (indoor) walk away. Regular (free) buggy services are also available to the Pan Pacific. Shopping spots are available in an area encompassing 85,000 square metres. Currently, the retail space at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport stands at 63,644 square metres (685,060 sq ft). The airport operator plans to increase the retail space to 103,251 square metres (1,111,380 sq ft), an 62.2% increase in retail space. Malaysia Airports's retail arm Eraman will boost retail shops to 277 from 242 and add more food and beverage outlets to 99 from 88 presently.

Main terminal building and contact pier

The Main Terminal Building of KLIA from side

The Main terminal building or Terminal 1 is located in between the two runways. The building consist 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. There are 61 and 69 immigration counters for departing and arriving passengers respectively, 16 transfer counters and 32 customs counters as well as 12 baggage carousels (10 for international passengers and 2 for domestic passengers). On 2 February, 2007, Malaysia Airports introduces 12 integrated self check-in kiosks (CUSS) for passengers. The first airline to use that system is KLM. A further 24 kiosks will be added later by the airport operator

The contact pier is the rectangular shaped terminal that is connected to the Main Terminal Building which serves as the domestic terminal of KLIA. It is currently the preferred terminal for Malaysia Airlines' domestic flights, however, it no longer caters the low-cost carriers' departing and arriving passengers. At the north side of the pier, it can only accommodate narrow-bodied aircraft. In contrast, the south side of the contact pier can accommodate B737 and B747 or similar sized aircraft. Due to its length,in order to facilitate passenger movement around the airport, travellators are installed around the contact pier.

Facilities within the terminal include ATMs, a fitness center, quiet rooms, smoking rooms, healthcare service, airline lounges, a featured display area which showcases KLIA's history and also information counters and an electronic information kiosk. The Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad derives 65% of its total annual revenue from non-aeronautical sources, with 35% from commercial space rental and a percentage of sale receipts.There were plans to increase and maximize the Main Terminal Building's and Contact Pier's retail area however, the plan was postponed due to Visit Malaysia Year 2007..

The gates in Main Terminal Building's contact pier has alphabelth prefix of A, B, G and H

Satellite terminal A

Interior of the Satellite Terminal.

The 143,404 square metres (1,543,590 sq ft) satellite building accommodates international flights departing and arriving at KLIA. Passengers have to travel to the satellite building via the Aerotrain. There are wide array of duty-free shops and prestige brand boutiques in the satellite building. This includes international brands such as Burberry, Harrods, Mont Blanc, Salvatore Ferragamo and recently, Mango has opened its first boutique at an airport in the Asian region. Among all international labels available within the terminal, some boutiques such as Harrods are only available in the airport. Liquor and perfumes are particularly popular, accounting for over half of total retail sales, followed by watches and tobacco products. Restaurants that serve various cuisine are also available with the presence of quite a number of restaurants such as Burger King, Rimba Jungle Cafe', Delifrance, Starbucks Coffee, Domé Café and more. Furthermore, Satellite Terminal A also houses the Airside Transit Hotel and some of the international airlines' lounges such as China Airlines' Dynasty Lounge, Malaysia Airlines' Golden Lounge for international passengers and Singapore Airlines' Silver Kris Lounge.

Within the terminal, wireless internet (Wifi) are 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 such as Star Movies. The terminal also features a natural rainforest in the middle of the terminal, exhibiting the Malaysian forests.

Under Malaysia Airports Berhad retail optimisation plan, the retail space in satellite terminal A will be further optimized 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 alphabelth prefix of C

Low cost carrier terminal

KLIA Low Cost Carrier Terminal.

A waiting lounge in KLIA's Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT).

The first purpose built Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) was specifically built at KL International Airport to cater to the growing passengers of the low cost airlines, especially the passengers of Malaysia's "no-frills" airline, AirAsia. Construction of the LCC Terminal was on a fast-track basis beginning June 2005 at an approximate cost of RM 108 million.

The 35,290 square-meter terminal is designed and built to suit the low cost carrier (LCC) business model that requires only basic terminal amenities. In order to offer lower landing fees, handling fees and airport taxes, it cuts back on amenities such as aerobridges, elaborate physical structures and decorations in the passenger terminal building. There is no transfer facility at the LCCT. Passengers who need to make transfers need to clear immigration, collect their luggage, clear customs, make their way to the main terminal and re-checkin with the respective airline.

The LCCT is located on the opposite side of the apron from the Main Terminal Building, near the air cargo area. By road, the LCCT is about 20 km from the Main Terminal Building.

However, the current Low Cost Carrier Terminal is a temporary solution for the increasing demand of no-frilled airline passengers. Therefore, Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad has incorporated the plans to build a new permanent LCC terminal which can accommodate 30 million passengers per annum in the KLIA Aeropolis Development Plan.

Kuala Lumpur City Air Terminal

Kuala Lumpur City Air Terminal, or KL CAT is a virtual extension of Kuala Lumpur International Airport where city check-in services are provided. Kuala Lumpur City Air Terminal is recognized by International Air Transport Association which carries IATA designation XKL. Currently there are only 4 airlines providing city check-in services, they are Cathay Pacific, Emirates Airline, Malaysia Airlines and Royal Brunei Airlines. However, the situation is due to be changed as 10 SITA's AirportConnect CUTE (Common Use Terminal Equipment) were installed on 10 check-in desks in KL CAT that enables all airlines to offer city check-in service for their passengers. . Apart from providing check-in services, the virtual terminal operator, Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd which operates KLIA Express is planning to roll out baggage check-out service in January 2008 whereby passengers only collect their baggage and declare taxable items in Kuala Lumpur City Air Terminal.

Awards & Recognitions

File:GreenGlobeSilver.jpg

Green Globe Certified Airport

Main article: KLIA Awards & Recognitions

Since its inauguration in year 1998,it has won numerous awards from international organizations around the world such as Skytrax and International Air Transport Association.

KLIA's commitment to promote environment responsibility for all local and foreign travellers was recognized by Green Globe, which is the first and only airport in the world to receive Green Globe 21 certificate in year 2004 onwards.

Since its inauguration on 27 June,1998, the airport has won awards. With its continuous effort to provide excellent services to passengers, the airport has emerged as one of the top five airports in the world.

In 2007, KLIA was rated the best airport in the world for 15-25 million passengers with Third Best Airport in Asia Pacific and Worldwide for the year of 2006. The award was organised by Airports Council International Airport Service Quality (ACI-ASQ). Again in 2008, Kuala Lumpur International Airport was rated the best airport in the world for 15-25 million passengers and Second Best Airport in Asia Pacific and Worldwide, beating Singapore Changi Airport and Hong Kong International Airport which are the leaders in service excellency. While in the 2007 Skytrax Airport of the Year awards, it finished fifth behind Hong Kong International Airport, Incheon International Airport, Singapore Changi Airport and Munich Airport.

Apart from these, Kuala Lumpur International Airport is the first airport in the world to be accredited with Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Assured certificate from Airports Council International (ACI)

Ground transportation

Inter-terminal transportation

Terminals of Kuala Lumpur International Airport are well connected with KLIA Automated People Mover (Aerotrain), a three-car driverless train that runs on elevated rail and under the taxiways, and also bus system.

Aerotrain station in Satellite Building

Main Terminal Building – LCCT

The LCCT is connected with the Main Terminal Building with a green-coded NadiKLIA bus for RM1.50. The Malaysian government announced in November 2006 that it had approved in principle the construction of a rail link between the Main Terminal Building and LCCT. However, the construction is pending until the new LCCT hub complex is fully constructed by 2010.

Main Terminal Building – Satellite Terminal A

The Main Terminal Building and Satellite Building are connected by Aerotrain at three to five minute intervals. The journey between terminals takes under two minutes, and each 250-person capacity train is able to transport 3,000 passengers per hour per direction with the maximum speed being 56 km/h (35mp/h). This is a complimentary service for all passengers traveling to/from Satellite Terminal

Rail

Main articles: KLIA Ekspres, KLIA Transit,KLIA ERL station,KL Sentral

Infrastructure
Passenger terminal buildings
Totals	(current)	(After LCCT Relocation)
Floor area	514,694 m²	Unknown m²
Handling capacity	35 million passengers	55 million passengers
Parking bays	46 (aerobridge) 68 (contact) 21 (remote)	LCCT Relocation Plan yet to be unveiled
Main Terminal Building & Contact Pier
Opened	27 June 1998 (operational)
Floor area	336,000 m²
Handling capacity	25 million passengers together with Satellite Terminal A
Parking bays	20 (aerobridge) 23 (remote)
Satellite Terminal A
Opened	27 June 1998 (operational)
Floor area	143,404 m²
Handling capacity	25 million passengers together with Main Terminal Building
Parking bays	26 (aerobridge) 15 (remote)
Low Cost Carrier Terminal
Opened	23 March 2006 (operational)
Floor area	35,290 m²
Handling capacity	10 million passengers (Current) 15 million after LCCT expansion
Parking bays	30
New Low Cost Carrier Terminal
Opened	Under Planning
Floor area	Under Planning
Handling capacity	30 million
Parking bays	Under Planning
Bunga Raya Complex
Opened	27 June 1998 (official)
Floor area
Handling capacity
Parking bays	1

Kuala Lumpur International Airport can be reached by the KLIA Ekspres and the KLIA Transit. KLIA Ekspres provides a non-stop express train service to the KL City Air Terminal (KL CAT) which has an IATA designation XKL, part of the Kuala Lumpur Sentral transportation hub in Kuala Lumpur. The non-stop trip between Kuala Lumpur and KLIA is 57 kilometers and takes exactly 28 minutes. Passengers departing from KL CAT can check in their luggage for flights on Emirates Airline, Cathay Pacific, Royal Brunei Airlines and Malaysia Airlines. Whereas KLIA Transit is a high-speed commuter train service linking Kuala Lumpur Sentral, and the Kuala Lumpur International Airport ERL station. It shares the same tracks as the KLIA Ekspres but with stops at several major stations. Check-in facilities are not available at KLIA Transit stations. Passengers to/from Low Cost Carrier Terminal can reach KLIA ERL station by boarding the Feeder Bus provided.

Taxis and limousine

Airport taxis or airport limousines are provided by Airport Limo. The taxis and limousines are readily available at the Taxi and Limousine counters. They run from airport itself to destinations in Klang Valley and Greater Klang Valley. The fares are to be paid at the counter and are charged according to the destinations' zone. A surcharge is applied for services between 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. Passengers are advised to refer to Fare Table for further information on charges.

Bus

Price of the tickets are as low as RM9.00

Service	Destination	Notes
Airport Coach
Express Coach	Kuala Lumpur Sentral
Express Coach	Ampang Line, Chan Sow Lin Interchange Station
Semi Express	Nilai KTM Station
Triton Bus
Express Coach	Ipoh
Express Coach	Kuantan
Express Coach	Termeloh
KR Travel & Tours
Airport Coach	Nilai KTM Station via LCCT
YoYo Bus Service
Express Coach	Ipoh
KLIA LCCT Shuttle Bus
SkyBus	KL Sentral
KR Travel and Tours	Nilai KTM Station
AeroBus	KL Sentral
NadiKLIA	KLIA Main Terminal building
Star Shuttle	Jalan Ipoh - Titiwangsa - Shah Alam - Subang Jaya

Car rental

Cars may be rented 24 hours a day at the car rental counters in the arrival concourse in the main terminal building.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger Terminals

Airplanes at Contact Pier

As there are international flights operating out from the airport, therefore terminals of the airport are equipped with immigration processing facilities and security scanning for all passengers including domestic passengers. The Satellite terminal handles most of the international flights, while the main terminal building's contact pier handles domestic traffics, regional international flights and international flights routed to other hubs within Malaysia. Malaysia Airlines operate from both terminals, where main terminal building's contact pier is their preferred terminal for domestic flights. Conversely, low cost carries such as AirAsia Group of Airlines, Tiger Airways and Cebu Pacific operates domestic and international flights out from the low cost carrier terminal.

The initial passenger growth was below average due to Asian Financial Crisis and the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemic in 2003, where the airport should reach its capacity by 2004 of 25 million passengers per annum (before the inclusion of low cost carrier terminal). The recovery of Malaysia's economy boosted Kuala Lumpur International Airport's passenger movements, which the airport saw stunning growth in traffic, hitting the 25 million passenger mark in 2007. In January 2008, the airport saw an growth of 8.3% in aircraft movements and 7.7% in passenger traffic to 2.17 million in January 2008 from 2.02 million in the same period last year.

As of January 2008, 57 airlines serves KLIA:

Airlines that operates flights in and out of Kuala Lumpur International Airport Passenger Terminals

Airlines	Destinations	Terminal
Air Arabia Fly Yeti	Kathmandu	Satellite Terminal A
AirAsia	Alor Star, Bali-Denpasar, Bandar Seri Begawan, Banda Aceh, Bandung, Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Bintulu, Chiang Mai, Guangzhou, Guilin (begins April 2008), Haikou (begins March 2008), Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City (begins June 2008), Hong Kong (begins April 2008) Jakarta, Johor Bahru, Kota Bharu, Kota Kinabalu, Krabi, Kuala Terengganu, Kuching, Labuan, Langkawi, Macau, Manila-Clark, Medan-Polonia, Miri, Padang, Palembang, Penang, Phnom Penh, Phuket, Sandakan, Shenzhen, Sibu, Siem Reap, Singapore, Solo, Surabaya, Tawau, Yogyakarta, Vientiane	Low Cost Carrier Terminal
AirAsia X	Dhaka-Charter, Gold Coast, Hangzhou	Low Cost Carrier Terminal
AirAsia Indonesia	Bandung, Jakarta, Medan, Surabaya, Pekanbaru [begins 30 Mar, 2008]	Low Cost Carrier Terminal
AirAsia Thai	Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi	Low Cost Carrier Terminal
Air China	Beijing	Satellite Terminal A
Air India Indian Airlines Air India Express	Delhi, Mumbai Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Chennai, Delhi Chennai	Satellite Terminal A
Air Mauritius	Port Louis, Singapore	Satellite Terminal A
Biman Bangladesh Airlines	Dhaka, Singapore	Satellite Terminal A
Cathay Pacific	Hong Kong¹	Satellite Terminal A
Cebu Pacific	Manila	Low Cost Carrier Terminal
China Airlines	Taipei-Taoyuan	Satellite Terminal A
China Southern Airlines	Fuzhou, Guangzhou	Satellite Terminal A
China Eastern Airlines	Shanghai-Pudong	Satellite Terminal A
EgyptAir	Cairo, Mumbai	Satellite Terminal A
Emirates	Dubai, Jakarta-Cengkareng, Singapore-Changi	Satellite Terminal A
Etihad Airways	Abu Dhabi	Satellite Terminal A
EVA Air	Taipei-Taoyuan	Satellite Terminal A
Garuda Indonesia	Jakarta	Satellite Terminal A
GMG Airlines	Dhaka, Chittagong	Satellite Terminal A
Gulf Air	Bahrain	Satellite Terminal A
Hainan Airlines	Haikou	Satellite Terminal A
Hong Kong Express Airways	Hong Kong	Satellite Terminal A
Iran Air	Tehran-Imam Khoemeini	Satellite Terminal A
Japan Airlines	Osaka-Kansai, Singapore, Tokyo-Narita	Satellite Terminal A
Jet Airways	Chennai	Satellite Terminal A
Jetstar Asia Airways	Singapore	Satellite Terminal A
KLM	Amsterdam, Jakarta	Satellite Terminal A
Korean Air	Jakarta, Seoul-Incheon	Satellite Terminal A
Kuwait Airways	Kuwait, Jakarta-Cengkareng	Satellite Terminal A
Lion Air	Jakarta, Surabaya	Main Terminal-Contact Pier
Lufthansa	Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Frankfurt	Satellite Terminal A
Mahan Air	Iran-Chartered	Satellite Terminal A
Malaysia Airlines(section)	Alor Star, Bandar Seri Begawan, Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Bintulu, Cebu, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City [MH 750 only], Jakarta, Johor Bahru, Kaohsiung [MH86 only], Kota Bharu, Kota Kinabalu, Kuantan, Kuala Terengganu, Kuching, Labuan, Langkawi, Manila [MH702 only], Medan-Polonia, Miri, Penang, Phuket, Sandakan, Sibu, Singapore, Surabaya, Taipei [MH68 only], Tawau, Tokyo-Narita [MH80 only], Yangon, Yogyakarta	Main Terminal-Contact Pier
Malaysia Airlines(section)	Adelaide, Amsterdam, Auckland, Bahrain [seasonal], Bali-Denpasar, Bangalore, Beijing, Beirut, Brisbane, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Cape Town, Chennai, Colombo, Delhi, Dhaka, Dubai, Frankfurt, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Hyderabad, Istanbul-Atatürk, Jakarta [MH711], Jeddah, Johannesburg, Kaohsiung, Karachi, Kunming, Kuwait [seasonal], Lahore [starts March 30], London-Gatwick [seasonal; begins July 3], London-Heathrow, Los Angeles, Macau, Male, Manila, Melbourne, Mumbai, New York-Newark, Osaka-Kansai, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Perth, Phnom Penh, Rome-Fiumicino, Seoul-Incheon, Shanghai-Pudong, Siem Reap, Stockholm-Arlanda, Sydney, Taipei [MH 94 only], Tokyo-Narita, Xiamen	Satellite Terminal A
Merpati Nusantara Airlines	Jakarta, Mataram, Surabaya	Satellite Terminal A
Myanmar Airways International	Yangon	Satellite Terminal A
Nepal Airlines	Kathmandu	Satellite Terminal A
Oman Air	Muscat [Begins May 2008]	Not Known
Pakistan International Airlines	Karachi, Peshawar	Satellite Terminal A
Qantas Jetstar Airways	Sydney	Satellite Terminal A
Qatar Airways	Bali-Denpasar, Doha	Satellite Terminal A
Royal Brunei Airlines	Bandar Seri Begawan	Satellite Terminal A
Saudi Arabian Airlines	Jakarta, Jeddah, Riyadh	Satellite Terminal A
Shenzhen Airlines	Nanning, Shenzhen	Satellite Terminal A
Singapore Airlines	Singapore	Satellite Terminal A
SriLankan Airlines	Colombo	Satellite Terminal A
Thai Airways International	Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi	Satellite Terminal A
Tiger Airways	Singapore	Low Cost Carrier Terminal
Transaero	Bali-Denpasar, Moscow-Domodedovo	Satellite Terminal A
Uzbekistan Airways	Tashkent	Satellite Terminal A
Vietnam Airlines	Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City	Satellite Terminal A
Xiamen Airlines	Fuzhou, Xiamen	Satellite Terminal A
Yemenia	Dubai, Jakarta, Sanaa	Satellite Terminal A

Note:

• ¹ Though Cathay Pacific's flight to/from Hong Kong involve a stop in Kuala Lumpur, passengers cannot purchse tickets to fly Cathay Pacific between Penang and Kuala Lumpur.
• ² Great efforts has been taken to ensure the information of airlines and destination are accurate.

Prospective Airlines and Routes

• Air Korea (Planned to start operations in May 2008)
• Bangkok Airways (Planned for KL-Samui route)
• Best Air (Dhaka)
• British Airways (Plans to reinstate flights from LHR-KUL)
• Jet Airways (Plan to start KUL-Mumbai by second quarter of 2008)
• Jetstar (Plans to introduce MEL-KUL, DRW-KUL and BNE-KUL)
• Kingfisher Airlines(Plan to launch flights to KLIA by end of 2007, but yet to materialize)
• Mandala Airlines (Plan to fly into KLIA and Singapore as part of its' expansion plan)
• Ocean Airlines Cargo (KUL is one of Italy's Ocean Airlines future cargo Destination on KUL-Brescia)
• Pacific Airlines
• Royal Jordanian (Plans to expand south-east Asian routes with Hong Kong added in 2008, with another two planned)
• Royal Khmer Airlines (Plans to restart KUL-PNH after it has stopped all its operations) (Phnom Penh)
• Sriwijaya Air (Plans to introduce flights from Medan, Surabaya and Makassar) (Makassar, Medan, Surabaya)

Note: Airline names that are shown in italics shows that the airline is currently serving Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Cargo airlines

The following cargo airlines also serve the airport:

• Cargolux (Baku, Chennai, Luxembourg, Singapore)
• China Airlines Cargo (Penang, Taipei-Taoyuan)
• China Eastern (Shanghai-Pudong)
• Coyne Airways
• DHL
• Eva Air Cargo (Taipei-Taoyuan)
• Federal Express(Anchorage, Cebu, Los Angeles, Penang, Singapore, Subic Bay, Tokyo-Narita)
• Gading Sari
• Indian Airlines Cargo (Chennai)
• Japan Airlines Cargo (Singapore, Tokyo-Narita, Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi,Manila)
• Jet Airways (Chennai)
• KLM Cargo (Amsterdam, Jakarta, Penang, Singapore)
• Korean Air Cargo (Seoul-Incheon)
• Lufthansa Cargo (Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Chennai, Frankfurt)
• Malaysia Airlines Cargo (Amsterdam, Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Basel/Mulhouse, Dubai, Frankfurt, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Osaka-Kansai, Melbourne, Milan, Shanghai-Pudong, Sydney, Taipei-Taoyuan, Tashkent , Tokyo-Narita)
• Nippon Cargo Airlines (Osaka-Kansai, Tokyo-Narita)
• Republic Express
• Singapore Airlines Cargo (Singapore)
• Transmile Air Services (Anchorage, Bangalore, Chennai, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Luik, Malmo, Manila, Medan, Mumbai, Nagoya, Nanjing, Osaka-Kansai, Penang, Riverside, Shanghai, Shenzen, Singapore, Tokyo-Narita, Taipei-Taoyuan)
• Tri-MG Intra Asia Airlines (Jakarta)
• TNT
• United Parcel Service (Anchorage, Cologne/Bonn, Dubai, Penang, Singapore)

Previous users

• Aeroflot
• Air Kazakhstan (Defunct)
• Air France (UTA)
• Air Macau
• Airtours (Now known as MyTravel Airways)
• All Nippon Airways (Currently code-sharing with Malaysia Airlines, expressed interest to return)
• Austrian Airlines (Suspended in March 2007)
• Balkan Bulgarian Airlines (Defunct)
• British Airways
• CSA Czech Airlines
• First Cambodia Airlines (Operations ceased)
• Jatayu Airlines
• Jugoslovenski Aero Transport (JAT) (now known as Jat Airways, Terminated due to UN sanctions on Yugoslavia)
• Kyrgyzstan Airlines (Defunct)
• Lauda Air (relaunched as Austrian Airlines- suspended in March 2007)
• LOT Polish Airlines
• Middle East Airlines
• Northwest Airlines
• Philippine Airlines (Codesharing with Malaysia Airlines)
• Royal Jordanian
• SABENA (Defunct)
• Star Air
• Thai Sky Airlines (Operations ceased)
• Turkish Airlines
• UTA French Airlines (Defunct)

Incidents

• In 2001, a Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747 aircraft suffered nose damage as it entered a monsoon drainage ditch while it was being taxied from the hangar to the gate before a return flight to Saudi Arabia. None of the six crew members on board at the time were injured.

• On July 14,2007, an aerobridge suddenly shifted downwards, damaging the door of a Malaysia Airlines Airbus A330 bound for Beijing. The aerobridge was not occupied at the time, and no passengers or crew were injured.

• On October 15, 2007, a Palestinian national managed to hide in the landing nose gear of flight SQ119, flight from KLIA to Changi Airport, Singapore. He was discovered in Singapore as he fell 2.4 meters from nose wheel after the plane landed. Despite the cold thin air during flight, the man survived the trip but was apprehended in Singapore. KLIA authorities has yet to find the cause of the security breach.

Gallery

Panoramic view of Main Terminal Building and Contact Pier

External links

• Official airport website
• Low Cost Carrier (LCC) Terminal - KLIA
• [1] KLIA LCCT Unofficial Website
• Template:Wikitravel
• SkyBus website
• Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad
• Template:WAD