About Penang International Airport
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Malaysia’s third busiest airport has the official IATA code of PEN – standing
in for Penang International Airport, or Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Pulau
Pinang in Malay, is the main airport for the northern region of Peninsular
Malaysia.
Formerly known as the Bayan Lepas International Airport, it is located in Bayan
Lepas, on the southeastern part of Penang Island, about 16 km (10 miles) from
George Town. An airfield has existed in Bayan Lepas since the early 1960s. It
was built on swampy land that was drained and reclaimed. A major expansion was
carried out in the 1970s.
During this expansion project, a new terminal building in the Minangkabau design
was constructed while the runway was extended to allow the airport to
accommodate the Boeing 747.
The new terminal building and runway were officially opened on 2 June, 1979 by
the then Yang Di-Pertua Negri of Penang, Tun Haji Sardon bin Jubir, with his
consort Toh Puan Hajjah Sadiah, in a ceremony attended by the Chief Minister of
Penang, the late Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu, the Minister of Transport Tan Sri V.
Manickavasagam, Minister of Works and Utilities Datuk Lee San Choon, and other
VIPs.
Since its opening, the Penang International Airport terminal building has been
renovated and expanded a few times, the last in early 2009, when a new check-in
wing was added to the south side of the terminal. In 2011, the terminal
underwent yet another renovation and expansion programme at a cost of RM250
million, which will be completed at the end of 2012 or beginning of 2013
(according to the press release, it is scheduled for 24 November 2012).
The Penang International Airport presently has an annual capacity of 5 million
passengers. It handled 4.5 million passengers in 2011. The airport has 64
check-in desks and 11 gates, 8 aerobridges and 3 baggage claim belts. It also
has cargo facilities including seven freighter docks for the B747.
Presently, the airlines flying to the Penang International Airport includes
AirAsia, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, Firefly, Jetstar Asia, China Southern
Airlines, Kartika Airlines, Lion Air, Malaysia Airlines, Malindor Air, Silkair,
Singapore Airlines, Sriwijaya Air, Thai Airways and Tiger Airways.
Cargo airlines using the airport includes Air Hong Kong, Asiana Cargo, Cathay
Pacific Cargo, China Airlines Cargo, DHL Air / Transmile, FedEx, KLM Cargo,
Korean Air Cargo, Lufthansa Cargo, MASkargo and UPS.
In terms of size, Penang International Airport is the fourth biggest airport in
Malaysia behind KLIA, Kota Kinabalu International Airport and Kuching
International Airport. In terms of passenger movement, it is the third busiest
airport in Malaysia after KLIA and Kota Kinabalu International Airport. In 2008,
it handled 3.4 million passengers, 43,796 aircraft movements, and handled
192,936 metric tonnes of cargo.
Driving to the Penang International Airport
If you're dropping someone off at the airport, take the ramp to go to the
curbside of the Departure concourse at level one. If you're fetching someone,
continue on the curb side at ground level. The road splits into three channels.
Take the middle traffic channel to reach the private vehicle curbside.
Car parks are available immediately in front of the terminal building as well as
across the driveway. These are operational 24 hours a day. Parking fee is RM3
per hour or part thereof (1st 4 hours), or RM33 per 24-hour block. If you lose your ticket,
you have to pay RM50.
Exiting the Penang International Airport
The road outside the arrival concourse is split into three traffic channels for
three different types of traffic. The Inner Traffic Channel, with two lanes, is
for the Airport White Taxi. The Middle Traffic Channel has three lanes. This is
for passenger cars and vans for picking up arriving passengers. The Outer
Traffic Channel has three lanes and is for the public bus as well as for cars
heading in and out of the car park outside the terminal (one of several car
parks).
Driving out of Penang Airport
The driveway makes a circular route around the main car park, which is in front
of the terminal building. To the left of the driveway are additional car parks.
Follow the lane for "George Town" to get out of the airport.
Getting to the Penang International Airport by bus
The Penang International Airport is served by Rapid Penang Bus 102, 401, and 401E stop at the terminal building of the airport. Rapid Penang Route
102, links the airport with the beach belt of Batu
Ferringhi.
Flying out from Penang International Airport
The Departure concourse of the Penang International Airport is on the First
Floor. If you are arriving by private car or city taxi, you can be driven right
to the curbside.
If you take the bus, it goes to the bus stop on the ground floor of the
terminal. From there, you enter the Arrival concourse, and take the escalator to
the Departure concourse.
The Domestic Departure Hall is on the far left of the Departure concourse. To
its right is the entrance to the International Departure Hall, with a bank of
Immigration counters for passport clearance. The middle portion of the Departure
concourse has shops and restaurants. On the far right of the Departure concourse
are the check-in counters of various airlines. These are contained within the
main terminal as well as the new annex.
Gates to the aerobridges as well as staircases to the parking apron line the
Departure Hall, which (at time of writing) does not separate between the
domestic and international flights. Hence passengers are free to move about in
the lounge area and do their last-minute shopping at the duty-free outlets.
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