More funds needed as Sultan Azlan Shah Airport takes off - The Malaysian Insider

BY ISTA KYRA SHARMUGAM

Published: 13 October 2015 3:43 PM

State Secretary Datuk Seri Abdul Puhat Mat Nayan (left) and Malindo Air commercial general manager Mohammad Hariss Abdullah exchange documents, witnessed by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir (centre) in Ipoh. - The Malaysian Insider pic by Wong Tuck Keong, October 13, 2015. 

The Perak government will be applying to the federal government for funds to upgrade the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport in Ipoh, says Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir.

He said the increased number of passengers arriving in the airport has made customs, immigration and quarantine facilitation among the urgent requirements.

“The number of passengers coming through the Ipoh airport has increased and the airport is  the busiest it has ever been.

“Last year, there were a total 98,768 passengers. As of August, there have been 124,235 passengers, which shows a clear increase,” he said, after witnessing the signing of a five-year agreement for promotion and flight marketing between the state government and Malindo Air at the State Secretariat building today.

The agreement was signed by state secretary Datuk Seri Abdul Puhat Mat Nayan and Malindo Air commercial general manager Mohammad Hariss Abdullah.

Zambry said there were currently four flight companies operating at the local airport, with at least one flight a day to Singapore and back.

These include Fire Fly, Sriwijaya Air and Tiger Air, which operates additional flights to Johor Baru and Kuala Namu, Indonesia.

“Although the Transport Ministry had previously approved an allocation for the Sultan Azlan Shah airport to be upgraded as it is now, the extent of improvements were not as we specified.

“At the time, many did not have faith that our airport would flourish  after almost 10 years of inactivity.

“But now it has picked up and we hope the federal government will help us to accomplish our progress plans,” he said. – October 13, 2015.

Tigerair launches flights between Singapore and Ipoh

Tigerair will operate four weekly flights between Singapore and Ipoh from May this year.

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(Photo: Tigerair)

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SINGAPORE: Tigerair will launch flights between Singapore and Ipoh in Malaysia from May 29 this year.

In a news release on Tuesday (Mar 31), the budget carrier said there will be four weekly flights between the cities. Ticket sales for the flights will commence on Apr 20.

The inaugural flight will depart Singapore at 4pm on May 29, landing in Ipoh at 5.20pm. The return flight will leave Ipoh at 6pm and reach Singapore at 7.20pm. After that, return flights to Ipoh will take place on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

The service will be operated by an Airbus 320 aircraft and can carry 1,440 passengers per week, Tigerair added.

Tigerair currently flies to Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi and Penang in Malaysia.

RM60mil approved to upgrade Sultan Azlan Shah airport - Star

Nov 7, 2008

IPOH: Work on extending the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport runway and upgrading the terminal building will start next year.

Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah said the Cabinet had approved RM60mil for the two projects.

He said the runway could now be extended by 200m from the present 1.8km apart from the airport terminal being upgraded.

This would allow the airport to attract more budget airlines within Asean to fly there, he said.

Currently, only Firefly offers flights from here to Singapore daily.

"Our surveys showed that Perak hold immerse potential as a tourist destination.

"With the extension, we hope other budget airlines will be attracted to use the airport," said Ahmad Husni Saturday.

Speaking to reporters after a ground-breaking ceremony for a market at the Tanah Hitam New Village in Chemor near here, Ahmad Husni, who is also Tambun MP, said work on extending and upgrading the airport would start next year.

On another matter, Ahmad Husni said elected representatives had also been roped in to ensure projects under Budget 2010 were carried out.

"The Yang Berhormats can also write to the Prime Minister or the Deputy Prime Minister if projects in their area are facing problems," he said.

Najib was reported to have asked his ministers to closely monitor projects under Budget 2010.

The Prime Minister wants the 160 projects listed to start according to schedule as this was the commitment given by the Government to the rakyat.

Govt Agrees To Upgrade Sultan Azlan Shah Airport - Ong

IPOH, Aug 13 (Bernama) -- The government has agreed to upgrade the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport here, with the cost of about RM120 million, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat said.

He said the upgrading works would cover the terminal building, extension of runway to 2km from the existing 1.8km and the construction of another taxiway.

"The government agrees to upgrade the airport and I hope that it can be implemented as soon as possible," he told reporters after attending a closed-door briefing by airport officials here Thursday.

The Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah, and the Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah, as well as Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir also attended the briefing.

Ong said the decision to upgrade the airport showed the commitment on the part of the government which had earlier given approvals to Malaysia and Singapore airlines to operate the Ipoh-Singapore sector.

Apart from Malaysia's budget carriers of Firefly and AirAsia, Singapore's budget carriers, Tiger Airways and Jetstar Asia Airways, would also operate the route.

He said the upgrading would not involve the relocation of residents in several housing areas near the airport.

-- BERNAMA