KUALA LUMPUR (July 18): Scoot Pte Ltd, the low-cost carrier of Singapore Airlines Ltd (SIA), on Thursday confirmed that it will start jet operations out of Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport (Subang Airport) from Sept 1.

Scoot will deploy the Airbus A320 aircraft for the Singapore-Subang daily flights, the airline said in a statement.

Subang Airport is set to see regular jet operations for the first time after 26 years. In May, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said he expects the narrowbody aircraft operations at the airport to resume in the third quarter of 2024.

Two other airlines that have so far confirmed jet operations at Subang Airport are TransNusa and FireFly, while Capital A Bhd’s (KL:CAPITALA) low-cost airline AirAsia is also understood to be planning to commence operations at the airport soon.

Indonesian airline PT TransNusa Aviation Mandiri was the first to sell flight tickets for the Jakarta-Subang route beginning Aug 1. TransNusa said it would deploy its A320 narrowbody planes for the operation at Subang Airport.

Malaysia Aviation Group Bhd (MAG) recently confirmed to The Edge that it will deploy its low-cost arm FlyFirefly Sdn Bhd’s narrow-body Boeing 737-800s jets to Subang Airport.

MAG, which also operates Malaysia Airlines Bhd and MASwings Sdn Bhd, said it plans to announce the jet's flight schedule and destinations once Subang Airport is ready to handle jet operations.

Meanwhile, Batik Air and SKS Airways Sdn Bhd have expressed their interest in operating jet services out of Subang Airport. However, it is understood that the number of slots allocated to each airline by Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (KL:AIRPORT) or MAHB to operate jets at Subang Airport will be limited.

Since 1998, Subang Airport has been limited to handling only propeller-driven aircraft such as turboprops, business jets, helicopters, and light and military aircraft.

In April 2021, MAHB unveiled its Subang Airport Regeneration Plan (SARP) — a RM1.3 billion plan that includes transforming the old airport into a city airport that can serve about five million passengers a year — after three years in the works.

According to Deloitte & Touche, SARP, which is scheduled to be completed in phases by 2030, is projected to generate a gross output of RM216.6 billion and value added of RM93.7 billion over the next 25 years.