page_title: Kota Kinabalu International Airport
section_title: Expansion and renovation
hierarchical_section_title: Kota Kinabalu International Airport / Expansion and renovation
caption_attribution_description: Map of Kota Kinabalu International Airport
context_page_description: Kota Kinabalu International Airport is an international airport in Kota Kinabalu, the state capital of Sabah, Malaysia. It is located approximately 8 km southwest of the city centre. In 2017, 8 million passengers passed through the airport, making it the second busiest airport in Malaysia after Kuala Lumpur International Airport. A medium-sized airport with good connections to most major aviation hubs across the Asia-Pacific region, the airport serves the city of Kota Kinabalu as well as the entire west coast of Sabah.
context_section_description: In mid-2005, the Malaysian federal government approved major renovation and refurbishment works to the main terminal (Terminal 1) as well as a runway expansion project worth RM1.4 billion. The project saw the runway extended from 2,988 m (9,803 ft) to 3,780 m (12,402 ft) and the size of the main terminal increased from 34,000 m² (370,000 sq ft) to 87,000 m² (940,000 sq ft). Terminal 1 can accommodate four Boeing 747s, one Airbus A330, seven Boeing 737s, three Fokker 50s and three Dorniers at any given time. It has 12 jetways for passenger use. The air traffic control tower, which had hitherto been attached to Terminal 1, was demolished and replaced by a stand-alone tower. Due to delays in upgrade works and disputes between the Department of Civil Aviation of Malaysia and the contractor responsible for the project, the runway extension and upgrading of the ILS (Instrument Landing System) was delayed to Q1 2014.
  As a result of this expansion, the airport is now able to accommodate the world's largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380. It has also become the second largest airport in Malaysia, with an annual capacity of 12 million passengers – 9 million for Terminal 1 and 3 million for Terminal 2.
  Generally, flights operating into and out of KKIA are serviced by narrow-body aircraft. However, during school holiday seasons, airlines such as Malaysia Airlines may upgrade their flights to wide-body aircraft, particularly the Airbus A330-300. Additionally, KKIA was the first airport in Malaysia to welcome the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, operated by Royal Brunei during several product introductory flights in November 2013. As to date, the largest aircraft to have utilize the airport are the Boeing 747-8, B777-300ER and Airbus A350 XWB.
caption: Schematic map of the airport
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