Transport Minister Anthony Loke. (Photo by Mohamad Shahril Basri/The Edge)

SUBANG (July 30): The upgraded Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport (Subang Airport), now with a doubled annual capacity of three million passengers, has set a curfew in place to limit aircraft operations between 10pm and 6am to control noise pollution, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke.

The Subang airport doubled its capacity from 1.5 million per year initially following works that started in December 2023 and concluded on June 30, according to Loke.

“Under the first phase of the (resumption of) jet operations at Subang, aircraft slots will also be limited (to ensure a limited impact on aircraft noise pollution),” he told a news conference on the new jet operations here on Tuesday.

Five airlines — AirAsia, Firefly, Batik Air Malaysia, Indonesia's TransNusa and Singapore Airline's Scoot — are set to commence Airbus A320 and Boeing 737-800 narrow-body aircraft flights out of Subang Airport next month. Batik Air Malaysia and TransNusa will be the first to take off, with Batik Air Malaysia operating three flights weekly to Penang using a 737, while TransNusa will operate a daily flight to Jakarta utilising an A320 from Aug 1.

The Edge understands that SKS Airways has secured slots to fly jets out of Subang but has yet to make announcements on its plans.

As for the upgrade of the main road leading to and from the airport, he said that will be undertaken under the second phase of the Subang Airport development, when a new terminal will also be built.

“Once the new terminal is ready in 2027 or 2028, the train service (Skypark Link) will also resume,” added Loke.

Skypark Link, a train service that connects KL Sentral station to Skypark Terminal at the Subang Airport, has been suspended since February 2023 due to low ridership, with only about 80 passengers at a time.

In November last year, Loke told the Dewan Rakyat that Skypark Link, operated by KTM Bhd, cost the government RM10 million annually for minimal daily users.

Since 1998, Subang airport has been limited to handling only propeller-driven aircraft such as turboprops, business jets, helicopters, and light and military aircraft to avoid cannibalising KLIA’s traffic and to make KLIA a strong aviation hub in the region. Currently, Firefly and Berjaya Air are the only ATR operators in Subang. Firefly operates nine ATR72 turboprops, while Berjaya Air operates an ATR 42-500 and the bigger ATR 72-500.

However, many residential areas have come up near Subang Airport, prompting concerns over the traffic congestion on the main road leading to and from the airport and the potential increase in noise levels.

Meanwhile, the enhancements to the interim jet operations in Subang involve a reconfiguration of the apron. There are now six parking bays capable of accommodating narrowbody jets such as the 737 and A320 and other equivalent types of jets, said Loke.

Terminal gross floor area has been increased by about 6% to 22,674 cu m, from 21,4674 cu m previously, with the addition of three flight information display systems to accommodate this increase in capacity.

The check-in process, Loke said, is expected to be smoother with 14 common use check-in counters, four self-service bag drop facilities and 15 self-service kiosks to be installed.

“Security screening, customs and immigration processes are expected to improve with additional facilities and equipment having been installed. Immigration counters have been increased from the current three to four for departures and from three to eight for arrivals.

“Passengers can expect better comfort and a smoother journey with the extension of the domestic and international holding lounges with three additional boarding gates (one international and two domestic) as well as a new domestic baggage reclaim area and a dedicated international reclaim area,” he added.

In March this year, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) revealed that it is likely to spend RM3.7 billion until 2030 on its revised Subang Airport Regeneration Plan (SARP), which includes a full-fledged new green city airport terminal and a 2.3 times increase in total lettable gross floor area for its business aviation area.

In February 2023, the government gave the go-ahead for the return of scheduled jet passenger and cargo flights as part of plans to turn it into a premium city airport and aviation hub under the revised SARP.