Penang International Airport

Penang International Airport (PIA) is an international airport in George Town, the capital city of the Malaysian state of Penang. The airport is located at the southeastern tip of Penang Island, south of the city centre, and serves the country's second largest conurbation.

As the main gateway into northwestern Malaysia, PIA is the third busiest airport in Malaysia by aircraft movements and recorded over 7.6 million tourist arrivals in 2024. It also handled the second largest cargo tonnage of all airports in the country and the highest in terms of export value, with RM365 billion in exports in 2023.

History

left|thumb|A 1935 map depicting routes of the [[Imperial Airways, which included Penang]]

left|thumb|Penang International Airport terminal . The terminal building underwent an overhaul by 2012.

left|thumb|Aerial view of Penang International Airport, with the suburban skyline of [[Bayan Lepas forming the background.]]

thumb|Entrance to Penang International Airport terminal, |left

The airport, then named Bayan Lepas International Airport, was completed in 1935, when Penang was part of the British crown colony of the Straits Settlements. Governor of the Straits Settlements Cecil Clementi had overseen the nascent aviation development in Malaya. Under his administration, aerodromes were built at Bayan Lepas and Kallang, Singapore.

The Bayan Lepas airport was constructed on mudflats, which necessitated the installation of concrete runways to ensure all-weather operational capabilities.

As early as 1938, the Straits Settlements government estimated that an additional was necessary for the expansion of the Bayan Lepas airport. At the time, the airport served both civilian air traffic and the Royal Air Force (RAF). At the onset of World War II, the Straits Settlements imposed regulations to manage air traffic in Penang, designating specific corridors for aircraft overflying the colony. The Bayan Lepas airport, along with the Butterworth air base, was subjected to aerial attacks by Japanese forces in December 1941.

Following the independence of Malaya, transportation infrastructure throughout the new federation falls under the purview of the federal government. In 1967, the federal government announced an allocation of $2.3 million (Malaya and British Borneo dollar) to expand the Bayan Lepas airport. The expansion was carried out in the 1970s, during which a terminal building of Minangkabau architecture was built and the runway extended to accommodate Boeing 747s, then the largest passenger jet aircraft. Upon the completion of the expansion works in 1979, the airport was renamed Penang International Airport (PIA).

The development of the adjacent Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone enhanced the PIA's role as a logistics hub. However, the surging cargo tonnage resulting from industrial demand prompted the Penang state government, under Chief Minister Koh Tsu Koon, to propose a new, larger airport in Seberang Perai in 1993 to accommodate the increase in air traffic. In 1997, then Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad announced plans to build a new airport in neighbouring Kedah and close the PIA, overlooking Koh's earlier proposals for the Seberang Perai airport. Fearing potential backlash from local civil societies and the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP), Mahathir later relented, stating that the PIA would "still be maintained if investors need it". The then Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng raised concerns that the federal government lacked urgency regarding the issue, as it was still considering the proposal for a new airport in Kedah. While the planned expansion met with delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2023, the federal government approved an allocation of RM93 million to facilitate land acquisition and infrastructure development for the airport's expansion. Costing RM1.5 billion, the PIA's expansion includes the addition of new infrastructure, such as the first Mitsui outlet mall outside the Klang Valley, and upgrades to the main terminal and apron, which will increase the aircraft capacity from 16 to 28 at any given time. The Mutiara line, a light rail system expected to be completed by 2031, will also include a station near the airport.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

: This flight operates with a stop at Phuket. However, the airline has no fifth-freedom rights to transport passengers solely between Penang and Phuket.

: This flight originates and ends at Langkawi. However, the airline has no eighth-freedom rights to transport passengers solely between Penang and Langkawi.

thumb|center|500px|Penang Airport passenger destinations as of April 2026

Cargo

Operational statistics

PIA is the second busiest airport in Malaysia in terms of aircraft movements after Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). In 2024, PIA recorded over 7.6 million passengers, compared to nearly 6.8 million in 2023.

The PIAKLIA route is one of the busiest air corridors in Malaysia, having flown 2.2 million passengers in 2019. Additionally, the PIAChangi corridor is the third busiest among Malaysia's ASEAN routes, with about 800,000 passengers flown in the first nine months of 2023.

While it processes the second largest cargo tonnage after KLIA, in terms of export value, PIA's is the highest of all Malaysian airports, with RM365 billion worth of exports passing through PIA in 2023 alone.

{|class="toccolours sortable" style="padding:0.5em;"

|+ Operational statistics (20142024)

! style="text-align:center;" |Year

! style="text-align:center;" |Passengers handled

! style="text-align:center;" |Passenger % change

! style="text-align:center;" |Cargo (tonnes)

! style="text-align:center;" |Cargo % change

! style="text-align:center;" |Aircraft movements

! style="text-align:center;" |Aircraft % change

|- style="background:#eee;"

|2014||6,041,583||||141,213||||63,396||

|- style="background:#eee;"

|2015||6,258,756|| 3.6||130,392|| 7.7||64,527|| 1.8

|- style="background:#eee;"

|2016||6,684,026|| 6.8||130,491|| 0.1||64,428|| 0.2

|- style="background:#eee;"

|2017||7,232,097|| 8.2||134,187|| 2.8||69,157|| 7.3

|- style="background:#eee;"

|2018||7,790,423|| 7.7||145,649|| 8.5||73,462|| 6.2

|- style="background:#eee;"

|2019||8,331,291|| 6.9||139,646|| 4.1||78,400|| 6.7

|- style="background:#eee;"

|2020||1,826,121|| 78.1||137,685|| 1.4||28,497|| 63.7

|- style="background:#eee;"

|2021

|542,681

| 70.3

|153,782

| 11.7

|15,978

| 43.9

|- style="background:#eee;"

|2022

|4,275,791

| 687.9

|162,048

| 5.4

|46,257

| 189.5

|- style="background:#eee;"

|2023

|6,789,712

| 58.6

|119,919

| 26.0

|59,578

| 28.8

|- style="background:#eee;"

|2024

|7,658,978

| 12.8

|103,423

| 13.8

|64,507

| 8.3

| colspan="7" style="text-align:right;" | Source: Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad,

Ground transportation

Rapid Penang has provided four bus routes to and from Penang International Airport, connecting the airport with various parts of George Town.

Incidents

28 March 1981: The hijacked Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 206 refueled at Penang International Airport, during which the hijackers removed one of the passengers from the aircraft. The plane subsequently proceeded to Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok, where a standoff ensued with Thai authorities before the eventual storming by Indonesian special forces.
9 November 1985: Drug traffickers Kevin J. Barlow and Brian G. S. Chambers were arrested at the airport while attempting to smuggle heroin into Australia. Both were later sentenced to death.

References

External links

Penang International Airport at Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad
Accident history for PEN at Aviation Safety Network
Penang Sentral global website