The history of the present Kuching Internation Airport goes back to 1931. The airport consisted of single storey passenger terminal, a small cargo facility, and an airport fire station, with a small apron of 4 parking bays.
Work on the strengthening and extension of the runway was completed in 1976.
Construction of the new terminal complex started at the end of 1978 and was completed in July 1983. This modern terminal replaced the previous terminal, and was opened for business on 24 August 1983. The terminal complex covered a built-up area of 81 hectares with a floor space of 13,000 square metres, comprised the three-storey passenger terminal flanked by neatly planned buildings which consisted of the Air Traffic Control Tower and operations block, a larger freight facility, a new airport fire station, Maintenance Building, VIP Building and ancillary services building.
As a result of the growth in popularity of air travel going into and out of Kuching, a completely new and larger terminal was needed. The new Kuching International Airport which we all use currently in Kuching, began construction in early 2000. Believe it or not, with the same location, old terminal slowly being chipped away and replaced section by section of the new terminal with additions and alterations to have traffic access to the Departure Gates on the 2nd Storey.
The new terminal complex was finally opened on Monday, the 16th of January 2006 by the Chief Minister of Sarawak Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud and the Malaysian Minister of Transport Dato' Sri Chan Kong Choy, and officially opened by the Prime Minister of Malaysia Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Monday, 17 April 2006.
The new terminal consists of 12 aerobridge aircraft parking bays, plus 3 new aircraft parking bays. With this, the airport is capable of handling widebody aircraft such as Boeing 747-400 operations allowing the possibility for airlines to operate from Kuching to London directly, and one gate specifically constructed for Airbus A380-800 operations. The renovations borrowed many design features from Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
The public areas are larger, more modern, lighter and more easily accessible. The terminal also has a range of restaurants, retail areas and lounges for enhanced traveller convenience.
As second hub for Malaysia Airlines and Air Asia, and other carrier such as MASwings, Malindo Air, RB Link, Scoot, Wings Air, Hornbill Skyways, Asia Cargo Airways, MASkargo, Neptune Air, and Raya Airways, Kuching International Airport ranked as the fourth busiest airport in Malaysia after Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Penang International Airport, and Kota Kinabalu International Airport.
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read more at Blog: https://travelogewans.blogspot.com
References:
1. Kuching International Airport – MAHB Website
2. Centre for aviation: New Terminal at Kuching International Airport Launched
3. Gobal Asia Airports: Kuching International Airport, Malaysia
4. Malaysia Airports: Airports Statistics 2018
British and Commonwealth Military
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