31 March 2009
MELAKA -- Budget airline, AirAsia, will be asked to use aviation facilities at the newly-upgraded Batu Berendam Airport from May 1, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said today.
Mohd Ali said he will meet AirAsia chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes soon on the matter.
The airport, given a RM131.5 million facelift, can be used from mid-April.
It can accommodate Boeing 737 aircraft and Airbus at half-load, he told reporters after inspecting work progress at the airport.
Upgrading work by Konsortium Uni-Integrated started in April 2007 to facilitate health tourist arrivals, particularly from Sumatra, who number close to 60,000 a year.
The airport will have a 7,000 square metre new terminal and will be equipped with facilities to receive domestic and international flights.
Mohd Ali said facilities for full load landing by Boeing and Airbus are expected to be ready in October, with the runway extended by 400 metres to 2,200 metres from 1,800 metres.
Fernandes, after a meeting with Mohd Ali in August last year, had said for a start AirAsia had identified six destinations -- four in Sumatra and two domestic -- from the airport.
Boeing aircraft will be used to land and take off for Palembang, Pekan Baru, Padang and Medan in Sumatra, Penang and Langkawi.
Fernandes however told the state government AirAsia's passenger and cargo planes will use the Batu Berendam Airport only at full load capacity.
Mohd Ali said the airport can handle 1.5 million tourists and rake in RM1 billion revenue when it is fully operational.
The Batu Berendam Airport, the country's first health tourism airport, has plans to handle flights from Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Hong Kong, he added.
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