Senai International Airport
Encyclopedia
Senai International Airport , officially known as Sultan Ismail International Airport (Malay: Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Sultan Ismail), is an airport
located in the town of Senai
, near Johor Bahru
, Malaysia. The airport is the secondary hub for Firefly.
. Senai International Airport used to be hubs of AirAsia
and used to serve as a domestic hub of Malaysia Airlines
until the rationalisation of its domestic routes to cut the company's losses. As a result, Malaysia Airlines only served two destinations from Senai after the rationalisation.
Today, this airport is managed by Senai Airport Terminal Services Sdn Bhd (SATS), the first independent airport operator in Malaysia, after taking over the operations of the airport from Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) in 2003. Senai International Airport is able to handle up to 4.5 million passengers and 100,000 tonnes of cargo per annum. There are plans to increase the capacity of the airport to 10 million passengers in the long term and turn the airport into a cargo hub. Recent expansions and upgrades include lengthening of the runway to 3800m and building a parallel taxiway to increase runway capacity.
Today, Senai remains primarily a domestic airport. With the South Johor region being developed, Senai International Airport might yet have a chance at becoming an air transport hub in Malaysia.
Located strategically in the Iskandar Malaysia
, Senai International Airport is set to become a major hub in the future. As such, Senai Airport Terminal Services (SATS) plans to invest up to RM1 billion over the next few years to upgrade the airport's passenger and cargo facilities such as building a new cargo centre and increasing the airport's retail space. Since Senai Airport was bought over, passenger traffic at the airport has more than doubled in the recent years and cargo traffic increasing significantly. The number of flights at the airport has also doubled due to efforts to attract new airlines and getting existing airlines to increase flights. Qatar Airways Cargo, which started weekly cargo flights to Senai International Airport, plans to double the number of weekly flights to two due to high demand for its service with 80% of the cargo continuing on to Europe.
Also, SATS wants to take advantage of the proximity of the airport to Singapore to attract people in Singapore to use Senai Airport. It has recently completed the building of the City Lounge, located at the Kotaraya Bus Terminal. The City Lounge provides bus services to the airport, city centre and Kranji MRT Station
in Singapore, thus increasing the accessibility of the airport. From Singapore, one may take a public bus service or 'restricted' taxi to Kotaraya Bus Terminal. From the bus terminal, one can change to an express bus service provided by the airport to get to Senai airport. However, if one does take a public bus over the Causeway, it is extremely inconvenient for someone with luggage since there is a need to disembark and re-board the bus on both the Singapore and Malaysian sides of the border to pass immigration and customs which is one level up from street level. If one makes the trip in both directions, it is twice the hassle. No porters or luggage trolleys is provided. Also, there is currently a minimal amount of domestic flights from Senai.
In order to attract more Malaysians and Singapore residents, SATS plans to have a wider range of direct flights to major cities such as Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Taipei, Shanghai, Perth, etc. However, efforts to attract other Asian budget carriers to fly some of these routes have so far been unsuccessful. Singaporeans currently make up about 40% of the passengers using the airport.
Under future plans, a new KTM mainline railway station is to be located at the airport, helping to increase ground interconnectivity for the airport's passengers. Currently, no rail service is provided at the airport.
project called Airport City or Aeropolis. The project, on 1,133 hectares near Senai Airport, will comprise three main components – residential-commercial-hospitality amenities, an air cargo logistic centre and a hi-tech park. The first component will cover 323 hectares while the other two will occupy 405 hectares each.
On 26 May 2008, SATS announced a MYR
70 million plan to build an Aero Mall, a stand-alone and external airport mall. The mall will have a retail space of 10000 square feet (929 m²) and is due to be completed in the late 2009 / early 2010 time frame. The Aero Mall was officially opened in July 2010.
On 8 July 2008, Kuwait's Al-Aqeelah announced a project to build an aviation academy near the airport. The project will cost around USD 100 million.
On 12 February 2009, the Hong Kong-based Plaza Premium Management Ltd opened its third Plaza Premium Lounge
in Senai International Airport. Since December 2009, the airport provides free WIFI service for all customers at the Main Terminal and Cargo Centre.
Firefly has announced on 22 February 2011 that Senai International Airport will be their fifth hub in Malaysia and will be operating with 2 fleets of Boeing 737-400. The proposed routes including flight to Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya, Indonesia (in third quarter) and Bangkok, Thailand (in fourth quarter). Due to the share swapping between MAS and AirAsia, Firefly will be restructured and all of the jet routes had be suspended.
Schedule: 08:15am to 8:55pm
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
located in the town of Senai
Senai
Senai is a transit town situated 25 kilometres northwest of Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Apart from the Senai International Airport, it is also the base for several major multinational electronics manufacturers...
, near Johor Bahru
Johor Bahru
Johor Bahru is the capital city of Johor in southern Malaysia. Johor Bahru is the southernmost city of the Eurasian mainland...
, Malaysia. The airport is the secondary hub for Firefly.
History
Opened in 1974, it serves the state of Johor as well as people from the southern states of Peninsular MalaysiaPeninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia , also known as West Malaysia , is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula. Its area is . It shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra...
. Senai International Airport used to be hubs of AirAsia
AirAsia
AirAsia Berhad is a Malaysian-based low-cost airline. AirAsia is Asia's largest low-fare, no-frills airline and a pioneer of low-cost travel in Asia. AirAsia group operates scheduled domestic and international flights to over 400 destinations spanning 25 countries. Its main hub is the Low-Cost...
and used to serve as a domestic hub of Malaysia Airlines
Malaysia Airlines
Malaysian Airline System Berhad , DBA Malaysia Airlines , is the government-owned flag carrier of Malaysia. Malaysia Airlines operates flights from its home base, Kuala Lumpur International Airport, and its eastern hub in Kota Kinabalu. It has its headquarters on the grounds of Sultan Abdul Aziz...
until the rationalisation of its domestic routes to cut the company's losses. As a result, Malaysia Airlines only served two destinations from Senai after the rationalisation.
Today, this airport is managed by Senai Airport Terminal Services Sdn Bhd (SATS), the first independent airport operator in Malaysia, after taking over the operations of the airport from Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) in 2003. Senai International Airport is able to handle up to 4.5 million passengers and 100,000 tonnes of cargo per annum. There are plans to increase the capacity of the airport to 10 million passengers in the long term and turn the airport into a cargo hub. Recent expansions and upgrades include lengthening of the runway to 3800m and building a parallel taxiway to increase runway capacity.
Growth potential of Senai Airport
Opened in 1974, the airport's main purpose was to prevent the "leakage" of passenger and cargo traffic from Johor into Singapore. However, the airport never fulfilled its purpose due to the limited number of flights and airlines at the airport.Today, Senai remains primarily a domestic airport. With the South Johor region being developed, Senai International Airport might yet have a chance at becoming an air transport hub in Malaysia.
Located strategically in the Iskandar Malaysia
Iskandar Malaysia
Iskandar Malaysia ', formerly known as Iskandar Development Region and South Johor Economic Region is the main southern development corridor in Johor, Malaysia. The Iskandar Malaysia was established on 30 July 2006...
, Senai International Airport is set to become a major hub in the future. As such, Senai Airport Terminal Services (SATS) plans to invest up to RM1 billion over the next few years to upgrade the airport's passenger and cargo facilities such as building a new cargo centre and increasing the airport's retail space. Since Senai Airport was bought over, passenger traffic at the airport has more than doubled in the recent years and cargo traffic increasing significantly. The number of flights at the airport has also doubled due to efforts to attract new airlines and getting existing airlines to increase flights. Qatar Airways Cargo, which started weekly cargo flights to Senai International Airport, plans to double the number of weekly flights to two due to high demand for its service with 80% of the cargo continuing on to Europe.
Also, SATS wants to take advantage of the proximity of the airport to Singapore to attract people in Singapore to use Senai Airport. It has recently completed the building of the City Lounge, located at the Kotaraya Bus Terminal. The City Lounge provides bus services to the airport, city centre and Kranji MRT Station
Kranji MRT Station
Kranji MRT Station ' is an above-ground Mass Rapid Transit train station on the North South Line in Singapore. This station also serves workers of nearby industrial estates which is Sungei Kadut. There were initial plans for a KTM railway station to be located near the station, to serve...
in Singapore, thus increasing the accessibility of the airport. From Singapore, one may take a public bus service or 'restricted' taxi to Kotaraya Bus Terminal. From the bus terminal, one can change to an express bus service provided by the airport to get to Senai airport. However, if one does take a public bus over the Causeway, it is extremely inconvenient for someone with luggage since there is a need to disembark and re-board the bus on both the Singapore and Malaysian sides of the border to pass immigration and customs which is one level up from street level. If one makes the trip in both directions, it is twice the hassle. No porters or luggage trolleys is provided. Also, there is currently a minimal amount of domestic flights from Senai.
In order to attract more Malaysians and Singapore residents, SATS plans to have a wider range of direct flights to major cities such as Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Taipei, Shanghai, Perth, etc. However, efforts to attract other Asian budget carriers to fly some of these routes have so far been unsuccessful. Singaporeans currently make up about 40% of the passengers using the airport.
Under future plans, a new KTM mainline railway station is to be located at the airport, helping to increase ground interconnectivity for the airport's passengers. Currently, no rail service is provided at the airport.
Expansion and Future Plans
Senai Airport Terminal Services Sdn Bhd, the operator of the airport announced a multi-billion ringgitRinggit
Ringgit mostly refers to the Malaysian ringgit, which is the local currency in Malaysia, but it can also refer to the Brunei dollar or Singapore dollar in the Malay language. The word ringgit was originally used to refer to the serrated edges of Spanish silver dollars widely circulated in the area...
project called Airport City or Aeropolis. The project, on 1,133 hectares near Senai Airport, will comprise three main components – residential-commercial-hospitality amenities, an air cargo logistic centre and a hi-tech park. The first component will cover 323 hectares while the other two will occupy 405 hectares each.
On 26 May 2008, SATS announced a MYR
Myr
The symbol myr was formerly used in English-language geology, and remains as the standard usage in astronomy, as a unit of one million years.It is an abbreviation for 'million years' and lower case is used in geology, while upper case is used in astronomy....
70 million plan to build an Aero Mall, a stand-alone and external airport mall. The mall will have a retail space of 10000 square feet (929 m²) and is due to be completed in the late 2009 / early 2010 time frame. The Aero Mall was officially opened in July 2010.
On 8 July 2008, Kuwait's Al-Aqeelah announced a project to build an aviation academy near the airport. The project will cost around USD 100 million.
On 12 February 2009, the Hong Kong-based Plaza Premium Management Ltd opened its third Plaza Premium Lounge
Plaza Premium Lounge
Plaza Premium Lounge is a VIP airport lounge network that has branches that can be found in 61 locations in 18 international airports in 8 countries throughout Asia and North America. Certain credit card holders can access these lounges free of charge just by showing the card and a same-day...
in Senai International Airport. Since December 2009, the airport provides free WIFI service for all customers at the Main Terminal and Cargo Centre.
Firefly has announced on 22 February 2011 that Senai International Airport will be their fifth hub in Malaysia and will be operating with 2 fleets of Boeing 737-400. The proposed routes including flight to Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya, Indonesia (in third quarter) and Bangkok, Thailand (in fourth quarter). Due to the share swapping between MAS and AirAsia, Firefly will be restructured and all of the jet routes had be suspended.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger Carriers
Cargo Carriers
Statistics
| Rank | Destinations | Frequency (Weekly) | Airlines |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Kuala Lumpur (KLIA) |
38 | AK, MH |
| 2 |  Subang (SBZ) |
21 | FY |
| 3 |  Kota Kinabalu |
18 | AK |
| 4 |  Kuching |
14 | AK |
| 4 | .svg.png) Penang |
14 | AK |
| 6 | Sibu |
4 | AK |
| 7 | Miri |
3 | AK |
Bus
Buses to the city is available.- Causeway Link City Lounge Express Shuttle to City Lounge Kota Raya
- Causeway Link Bus No.333 to Larkin Bus Terminal.
Schedule: 08:15am to 8:55pm
- Maju Bus No.207 to Larkin Bus & Taxi TerminalLarkin Bus & Taxi TerminalThe Larkin Bus & Taxi Terminal is located in Johor Bahru , Malaysia, some 5 kilometres northwest of the northern tip of the Johor–Singapore Causeway...
. - GML Line Bus No. G1 to Larkin Bus & Taxi Terminal.
- Senai Airport Line Bus No. A1< to Permas JayaPermas JayaPermas Jaya, with the official name of Bandar Baru Permas Jaya, is a housing estate and light industrial area located in Johor Bahru District, northeast of Johor Bahru, and is under the administration of MBJB or Johor Bahru City Council. It has about 40,000-45,000 residents. The Permas Jaya Bridge...
via Larkin Bus & Taxi Terminal.
Taxi
A taxi coupon ticket can be bought at the Taxi Coupon Counter which located at the outside of the Arrival Hall.Interior of Senai International Airport
The interior of the airport's terminal building has been upgraded to make it look more pleasant to the eye. Wood-coloured tiles was added to the flooring of the terminal, elegant-looking seats was placed in the departure areas to provide seating for the airport's passengers. The number of retail shops has also increased significantly, providing a variety of choices for its passengers.External links
- Senai International Airport, official site