Jets to soar over Subang airspace once again starting Aug 1

PETALING JAYA: The roar of jetplanes will be heard again in the airspace around the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport next month, after a lapse of 22 years.

Starting Aug 1, six airlines will operate out of the airport, fondly known as the Subang Airport, to various regional destinations, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke.The six are AirAsia (Malaysia), Firefly, SKS Airways, Transnusa, Batik Air Malaysia and Scoot.

The last jetplane took off in Subang when KLIA opened in 2002, and the airport has since served mainly turboprop planes when it comes to passenger operations, save for some small private jet operations.

“After 22 years, we feel there’s a need to redevelop Subang Airport as a city airport, and the passenger capacity in KLIA is also packed with over 25 million passengers annually,” said Loke to reporters during a press conference after a walkabout at the Subang Airport here yesterday.

The first jet operation by Batik Air Malaysia is scheduled to take off for Penang at 12pm tomorrow, while a Transnusa flight from Jakarta is scheduled to land at 2pm the same day.

Loke said in order to minimise noise pollution, passenger flights into and out of Subang can only take place between 6am and 10pm.

“This takes into consideration that its (airport) surroundings are residential areas,” said Loke, who added that Subang will once again thrive after being limited to turboprops, helicopters, light military aircraft and business jets.

“Following improvements for the interim jet operations, the apron was reconfigured. Six parking bays are now able to accommodate narrow-body aircraft, including the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320,” he said.The terminal gross floor area also rose by 6% from 21,467sqm to 22,674sqm, with three additional flight information display systems to accommodate the increase in passenger capacity.

“The check-in process is expected to be smoother with the installation of 14 common-use check-in counters, four self-service bag drop facilities and 15 self-service kiosks,” said Loke, who added that the Transport Ministry will propose to the Cabinet meeting today on using automatic gates at Subang to reduce passenger congestion.

According to Loke, the interim phase of resuming jet operations will see the airport’s passenger capacity increase from 1.5 million passengers annually to 3 million.

Loke also announced plans to restart the Skypark Link, a KTMB commuter train that connects the airport to KL Sentral Station via Subang Jaya.

“Once the new terminal is ready, the trains must be ready. We’re considering starting it earlier because the tracks and station are already there.

“It is just a matter of when demand comes up again and whether we are ready for train operations,” said Loke.

The Skypark Link service ran for five years before it was suspended on account of low ridership on Feb 15, 2023, with the trainsets redeployed to serve other areas.

Putrajaya approved the Subang Airport Regeneration Plan (SARP) in February, which aims to upgrade Subang Airport and its surrounding 477.33ha area into three major segments – business aviation, aerospace ecosystem and city airport.

SARP, which is scheduled to be completed in phases by 2030, will see the aerotropolis developed into a drone test site as well as an aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul facility, among others.