Malaysia’s Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport (SZB), also known as Subang International Airport, is set to be redeveloped into an aviation hub and a premium city airport.
The Malaysian Cabinet approved The Subang Airport Regeneration Plan, which will see the airport handle up to eight million passengers annually.
Airport operator Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) has been given two months to develop a working business plan for the redevelopment of Subang Airport, The Star reported.
Subang Airport served as Kuala Lumpur’s main airport from 1965 to 1998, before Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) was opened in 1993 and eventually operated as the main airport of Malaysia.
Subang Airport is currently the base for SKS Airways, Firefly and Batik Air Malaysia commercial turboprop services.
The regeneration plan will allow Subang Airport to operate narrowbody jetliners such as the Boeing 737 and the Airbus A320 which were discontinued in 2002.
“When the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) began operations in 1998, (Subang Airport) gradually winded down its operations and jet engines were disallowed from operating,” Malaysian transport minister Anthony Loke was quoted as saying by The Star.
“One of the biggest policy changes is that the government is now allowing narrow-body jets to operate again in this airport, but for this to happen there must be redevelopment (of the airport terminals),” Loke added.