Sibu Airport is an airport located east south east of Sibu, a town in the state of Sarawak in Malaysia. In 2018, the airport handled 1,579,528 passengers on 20,869 flights and also handled 1,443 metric tonnes of cargo. The airport is the 11th busiest airport in Malaysia, and the 3rd busiest in Sarawak in terms of passengers handled. In April 2009, the airport was given RM 150 million for an upgrade of the terminal building. On 23 September 2010, Sarawak Minister of Finance and Public Health, Dato' SriWong Soon Koh had announced that the expansion project would commence. The upgraded terminal started its operation on 31 July 2012. The airport terminal is the third largest airport terminal in Sarawak after Kuching International Airport and Miri Airport, with a total terminal floor space of 15,240m².
History
Old airport
The first airport in Sibu was built in Teku, during World War II by the Japanese as a basic air strip. However, the airstrip was heavily bombed by Allied Forces. After the war, the airport was further developed to house basic airport amenities such as departure lounge and public waiting area. The first plane landed at Sibu airport on 21 May 1952. The airport was capable to support Fokker F27 Friendship and Twin Otter flights. On 15 August 1990, a Lockheed C-130H Hercules belonging to the Royal Malaysian Air Force skidded off the runway and the aircraft had been written off. It was believed that those on board are part of the royal entourage visit to Sibu. On 2 September 1992, a Fokker 50 aircraft landing gear failed, causing the aircraft to veer off the runway and into the bushes. The old airport has been demolished to make way for Laila Taib College and Tun Zaidi Stadium. The runway of the old airport can still be seen and half of it is used as the connecting road for the stadium.
New airport
Operation of the new airport officially began 1 June 1994. On 31 May 1994 the inaugural landing of four Malaysia Airlines aircraft occurred. The aircraft were three Fokker 50 and a Boeing 737. They were the pioneers to land on the Sibu New Airport runway which at that time measured. On that remarkably historical night, the air traffic clearance "Clear to land" was issued from the Sibu Air Traffic Control Tower on the assigned frequency 122.6 MHz to the first Boeing 737-500 to land on the asphalt surface of the designated runway 13. That night not only marked the first landing of a turbo-prop commercial aircraft on Sibu ground but subsequently it also commemorated the commencement of operation of the new airport located east south east Sibu town. Sibu New Airport was built with a single runway designated as runway 13/31. It was previously but since the completion of the extension under the 7th Malaysian Plan for 'Sibu Airport Development Plan', the length was extended to, and the new runway length was commissioned for use on 9 May 2006. The extended length is able to cater to landing of an Airbus A330 or other wide bodied jet aircraft. Runway 13 is equipped with an approach lighting system called Precision Approach Lighting Category 1, whereas runway 31 with Simple Approach Lighting System. The other airside areas such as the taxiways and apron are also furnished with appropriate lighting aids. The maximum capacity of the parking apron is one Airbus, two Boeing 737-400s, two Fokker 50 and two Twin Otter or similar aircraft. Only bay 2 and 3 are equipped with aerobridges functioning on Visual Docking and Guidance System. The functional runway is also equipped with landing aids such as the Middle Marker, Glide Path, the Localizer and the PAPI. All the stated instruments are installed to be utilised by aircraft to assist them during the final approach process and landing manoeuvres.
Expansion project
The airport underwent an expansion project that involved upgrading of the terminal building, car park and the addition of more aerobridges. This makes the airport capable of handling 1.9 million passengers annually. The cost of the expansion was RM130 million. The brand new check-in counters of the airport were opened on 19 December 2011. The upgraded Sibu Airport was inaugurated on 16 September 2012.
Airlines and destinations
Traffic and statistics
Traffic
Statistics
Incidents and Accidents
On 29 September 2014, a Singaporean training aircraft Beechcraft King Air C90B skidded off the runway during touchdown. No one was injured during the incident.
On 8 April 2017, Malaysia Airlines Flight 2718, operated by Boeing 737-800 9M-MXX, overran the runway on landing. The nose gear collapsed. All 67 people on board survived. The incident resulted in Sibu Airport closure until 10 April, and left 1,413 passengers were affected cancellations and delays of flights.
