AirAsia unveils plans for own airport
Budget carrier AirAsia said Thursday it will shift to its own 460
million dollar airport outside Kuala Lumpur, and abandon its overcrowded
terminal next to the main international airport.
The move has thrown into doubt the national airport operator's plans
to build a new Low Cost Carrier Terminal next to Kuala Lumpur
International Airport (KLIA), to replace the existing facility that
opened in 2006.
"We believe in lowering our business costs, it is the key to our
success," AirAsia founder Tony Fernandes told a press conference. "The
new airport which will be known as KLIA East will provide more capacity
for aircraft and passengers, and enable us to bring down fares," he
said, adding that costs could be lowered by 30 percent. Fernandes
rejected criticism that KLIA has more than enough capacity to handle
AirAsia's growth plans, and that the sprawling city has no need for what
would be its fourth airport. "I think we know what we need, we are not
silly," he said.
"There is nothing here (at the old terminal) to add value to our
passengers. Allow us to take our destiny in our own hands." Fernandes
said the new airport would be exclusively for AirAsia, and designed to
handle up to 30 million passengers annually. Construction could begin
within six months with a completion date of March 2011.
The new airport would be linked by new train and road links, and be
about 30 minutes' drive from the city centre - less than the journey to
KLIA. Malaysian conglomerate Sime Darby had said it has won government
approval to begin the project, which is to be the centrepiece of its new
development at Labu in Negri Sembilan state. "We have a fantastic
partner, it will enhance tourism. We will also have a theme park, it
will be like Orlando airport where Disneyland is located," Fernandes
said. AirAsia has dramatically outgrown its rough-and-ready terminal
adjoining KLIA, which has no rail links with the city or the main
airport, and has become increasingly crowded and unpleasant for
passengers. The terminal was completed in just nine months, with a
capacity for 10 million passengers and a provision for expansion to 15
million passengers. The expansion of the current low-cost terminal is
due to be completed by March, but by then AirAsia will already have
exceeded its enlarged capacity with some 15.7 million passengers a year.
KUALA LUMPUR, AFP |
