Penang International Airport

Penang International Airport (11 October 2019)


This article is about the airport. If you are arriving by plane, please read arriving by plane in Penang for useful travel tips to visitors.

Penang International Airport (GPS: 5.29357, 100.26601; IATA: PEN; Abbreviation: PIA; Malay: Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Pulau Pinang) is an airport in Bayan Lepas on Penang Island. It is the 3rd busiest airport in Malaysia after the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Kota Kinabalu International Airport. Formerly known as the Bayan Lepas International Airport, it is located on the southeastern part of Penang Island, about 18 km (10 miles) from George Town (on-the-road distance from airport to Komtar).

History of Penang International Airport

The history of the Penang International Airport goes back to 1935, making it the oldest airport in the country. It was built on swampy land that was drained and reclaimed. A major expansion was carried out in the 1970s. During this expansion project, a new terminal building in the Minangkabau design was constructed while the runway was extended to allow the airport to accommodate the Boeing 747.

Work on building the present airport began in January 1976. The terminal building and runway became operational on Friday, 1 December 1978¹, and were officially opened on 2 June, 1979 by the then Yang Di-Pertua Negri of Penang, Tun Haji Sardon bin Jubir, with his consort Toh Puan Hajjah Sadiah, in a ceremony attended by the Chief Minister of Penang, the late Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu, the Minister of Transport Tan Sri V. Manickavasagam, Minister of Works and Utilities Datuk Lee San Choon, and other VIPs. The terminal was built at a cost of RM22 million.¹

A Malaysian Airline System Boeing 737 was the first aircraft to use the new airport, touching down at 6:50am on Friday, 1 December 1978. At that time, the airport's aerobridges were the first of its kind in Southeast Asia.²

Penang International Airport (26 October 2013)


Penang International Airport departure concourse (27 October 2012)


Aerial view of Penang International Airport
© Kelly Walther

The Penang International Airport, before the renovation to its terminal building (22 May 2009)


Penang International Airport Terminal, as seen from Permatang Damar Laut. (15 December 2018)


Penang International Airport Terminal, as seen from Permatang Damar Laut, before the terminal was renovated. (17 October 2008)


Aircraft guiding lights of the Penang International Airport, at Permatang Damar Laut (15 December 2018)


Since its opening, the Penang International Airport terminal building has been renovated and expanded a few times, the last in early 2009, when a new check-in wing was added to the south side of the terminal. In 2011, the terminal underwent yet another renovation and expansion programme at a cost of RM250 million, which was completed at the end of 2012 or beginning of 2013 (according to the press release, it was scheduled for 24 November 2012).

The Penang International Airport presently has an annual capacity of 5 million passengers. It handled 4.5 million passengers in 2011. The airport has 64 check-in desks and 11 gates, 8 aerobridges and 3 baggage claim belts. It also has cargo facilities including seven freighter docks for the B747.

Eateries and kiosks at the Penang International Airport departure concourse (27 October 2012)


Penang International Airport (28 October 2006)


Presently, the airlines flying to the Penang International Airport includes AirAsia, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, Firefly, Jetstar Asia, China Southern Airlines, Kartika Airlines, Lion Air, Malaysia Airlines, Silkair, Singapore Airlines, Sriwijaya Air, Thai Airways and Tiger Airways. Cargo airlines using the airport includes Air Hong Kong, Asiana Cargo, Cathay Pacific Cargo, China Airlines Cargo, DHL Air / Transmile, FedEx, KLM Cargo, Korean Air Cargo, Lufthansa Cargo, MASkargo and UPS.

In terms of size, Penang International Airport is the fourth biggest airport in Malaysia behind KLIA, Kota Kinabalu International Airport and Kuching International Airport. In terms of passenger movement, it is the third busiest airport in Malaysia after KLIA and Kota Kinabalu International Airport. In 2008, it handled 3.4 million passengers, 43,796 aircraft movements, and handled 192,936 metric tonnes of cargo.

Penang International Airport aerobridge (28 October 2006)

The Penang International Airport is on the Map of Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah

Updates on the Penang International Airport

29 June 2024
The Star reports Transport Minister Anthony Loke saying that tender for the expansion works of the Penang International Airport first package3 has closed, and Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd is in the process of selecting the contractors. The expansion project involves three packages, with the first package involving the shifting of the control tower and increasing the capacity of the passenger terminal from 6.5 million to 12 million.

14 March 2024
The Star reports that the Penang International Airport is poised to become the second biggest airport in the country with a RM1.5billion expansion project to be completed in 2028. With the expansion, the number of commercial aircraft able to park at the terminal will increase from the present 16 to 28. There will be an additional 6 bridged parking bays and 6 remote parking bays.

27 February 2024
The Star reports that the Cabinet has approved the expansion of the Penang International Airport. According to Transport Minister Anthony Loke, this is estimated to cost RM1 billion. The actual figures will only be determined once the tender is completed. This would increase the terminal's annual handling capacity from 6.5 million passengers to 12 million passengers.

16 February 2024
The Star reports that the Federal Government will look to expedite the expansion project of the Penang International Airport.

26 October 2023
Buletin Mutiara reports that the expansion of Penang International Airport is expected to take place in the third quarter of 2024.

See details of the Penang International Airport expansion on the Grimshaw site.

2 April 2022
The Star reports that the Penang airport has sprung back to life after two years following the reopening of international borders.

17 February 2022
The Edge Markets reports that Firefly is reinstating its jet operations from its Penang hub to Johor Bahru, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu from 11 April. Firefly will use the Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

14 December, 2019
The Star reports that the Penang State Government decided to expand the Penang International Airport rather than to build a new one on reclaimed land, as it could not afford to delay the expansion any further. With the expansion, the airport will be able to cater to 12 million passengers per year, from its present 6 million.

29 June 2021
The Star reports that Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad is working to define the scope of work for the expansion of the Penang International Airport.

13 December, 2019
The Star reports that the Penang Island City Council has given Malaysia Airport Holdings the approval to expan the Penang International Airport, and that the expansion project will cost between RM800 million to RM900 million. Work is scheduled to start in March 2020, and is expected to take 36 months. The expansion will increate the gross floor area of the terminal building from 54,582 sq meters to 113,005 square meters, and it will be able to accommodate 25 commercial aircraft. The air control tower will have to be relocated. 9 November, 2018
Malay Mail reports that the Penang government wants a new international airport to be built on reclaimed land in Batu Maung. However, the airport will only be realised after 2050. According to Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, the state government will conduct a feasibility study on this project soon.

29 August, 2018
The Star reports that work on the Penang Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) could start in 2019, and the terminal would be completed in 2022.

7 August, 2018
The Star on its front page reported that plans are afoot to build a low-cost carrier terminal at the Penang International Airport. The terminal will most likely occupy a 34-heactare plot to the south of the international terminal. The idea of building a low-cost carrier terminal revisits the plan initiated in 2007.

24 September, 2014
StarMetro reported Penang Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association (REHDA) chairman Datuk Jerry Chan proposing that the Penang International Airport be relocated to a man-made island, so that a bigger airport can be built there, and the present 323-hectare airport site be used for property development.

14 June, 2014
The Star reported (Kedah has right to propose) Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng as saying that land could be reclaimed to the south of the Penang airport and provisions had been made to reclaim between 121 hectares and 202 hectares if necessary.

Penang International Airport at dusk (3 May 2015)


Penang International Airport at dusk (3 May 2015)


Penang International Airport at dusk (3 May 2015)

Flying into the Penang International Airport

Read Arriving by Plane in Penang.

Driving to the Penang International Airport

If you're dropping someone off at the airport, take the ramp to go to the curbside of the Departure concourse at level one. If you're fetching someone, continue on the curb side at ground level. The road splits into three channels. Take the middle traffic channel to reach the private vehicle curbside.

Car parks are available immediately in front of the terminal building as well as across the driveway. These are operational 24 hours a day. Parking fee is RM2 per hour or part thereof, or RM20 per 24-hour block. If you lose your ticket, you have to pay RM50.

Penang International Airport Car Park (27 October 2012)

Getting to the Penang International Airport by bus

The Penang International Airport is served by Rapid Penang Bus 102, 306, 401, 401E and 401E stop at the terminal building of the airport. Rapid Penang Route 102, relaunched on 15 March 2010, links the airport with the beach belt of Batu Ferringhi.

Escalator from the Arrival concourse to the Departure concourse (27 October 2012)


Fast food outlet at the Penang International Airport (27 October 2012)

Flying out from Penang International Airport

The Departure concourse of the Penang International Airport is on the First Floor. If you are arriving by private car or city taxi, you can be driven right to the curbside.

If you take the bus, it goes to the bus stop on the ground floor of the terminal. From there, you enter the Arrival concourse, and take the escalator to the Departure concourse.

Check-in counters at the Departure concourse, Penang International Airport (27 October 2012)


The Domestic Departure Hall is on the far left of the Departure concourse. To its right is the entrance to the International Departure Hall, with a bank of Immigration counters for passport clearance. The middle portion of the Departure concourse has shops and restaurants. On the far right of the Departure concourse are the check-in counters of various airlines. These are contained within the main terminal as well as the new annex.

Gates to the aerobridges as well as staircases to the parking apron line the Departure Hall, which (at time of writing) does not separate between the domestic and international flights. Hence passengers are free to move about in the lounge area and do their last-minute shopping at the duty-free outlets.

Check-in counters at the new Annex, Penang International Airport (27 October 2012)

Nearby Sights

Updates on the Penang International Airport

24 September 2012: The Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng calls for the airport to be renamed the Penang P. Ramlee International Airport, in recognition of the late entertainer who was born in Penang. However this might not materialize as it did not receive complete support from all quarters, some of which feel that it is more appropriate for the entertainer's name to grace Dewan Sri Pinang instead.

21 December 2010: The Penang International Airport will be given a RM250 million upgrade, slated to be completed by June 2012. (On 17 October 2012, it was announced that the completion date was moved to 24 November). The upgrade involves increasing the floor area to 52,000 sq m, enabling the airport to support 5 million passenger movement a year, from the present 3.5 million. The number of car parks will also be increased from 1,200 to 2,000. There will also be more aircraft parking bays, immigration, customs and security screening counters, baggage reclaim carousels, departure lanes, public seating and toilets. There will be a full segregation of domestic and international passengers.

May 2009: Plans are on the drawing board to add a low cost carrier terminal to the airport. At time of writing, the plans are said to be in the final negotiations. Penang International Airport won the Airport of the Year award for 2009 Frost and Sullivan Asia Pacific Aerospace and Defence for airports below 15-million-passenger category.

Penang International Airport on Google Street View

References

Private Guided Tours of Penang

If you are seeking private guided tours of Penang, message Penang Tour Guides at penangtourguides@gmail.com and enquire with them.

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About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.