SEPANG – KL International Airport (KLIA) celebrated its 13th birthday today, and Malaysia Airports foresee that the flagship airport will continue to reap more successes in the future. Since its opening 13 years ago, KLIA has enjoyed many accomplishments both in the domestic and international front, cementing its position as one of the well-known airports around the globe.
In commemorating its 13 achievement-filled years, KLIA honoured four lucky passengers in a simple yet special reception. The lucky passengers were chosen based on:-
i) 95th millionth Domestic passengers at KLIA
ii) 192th millionth International passengers at KLIA
iii) 287th millionth Passengers at KLIA – Overall
Tan Sri Datuk Dr. Aris Othman, Chairman of Malaysia Airports said, “It gives me great privilege to be part of the KLIA community. Throughout 13 years of operations, the airport has undergone many transitions and set numerous milestones which every Malaysians can be proud of.”
He added: “I’m confident that KLIA will keep on progressing and to further establish itself as an icon in the world of aviation. Malaysia Airports is very thankful for the great continuous support given by all agencies at KLIA, as these collective efforts will continue to be the pillars of strength for KLIA to succeed.”
"An airport is the first and last impression about our country. When visitors come into Malaysia, we want to offer them a positive and lasting impression of a nation that is moving forward, and that should start from the second they enter the airport. In this case, KLIA sets an ideal example on what they can expect in Malaysia.”
KLIA certainly will play a prominent role in Malaysia Airports’ effort towards building a world class airport business through its corporate blueprint, Runway To Success, between the years 2010 to 2014. The accomplishment of the three focuses underlined in Runway To Success – Traffic Growth, Service Excellence and Commercial Development will be very much impacted by the performance of KLIA.
With Klia2 in the making and set to seize advantage of the rapid growth of the low-cost carrier industry in the Asian region, things are looking bright and promising for KLIA. Klia2 will be a catalyst for innovative new offerings, including an air-ground multi-modal interchange and a suite of airport city facility.
2011 has so far been a good year for KLIA. KLIA’s service excellence was acknowledged the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2011 for Best Airport Immigration Service, the second consecutive times KLIA won the award. For the first quarter of 2011, KLIA recorded a 6.6% growth in passenger movements compared to the same period in 2010, recording 4,694,572 against 4,402,389.
The highlight of KLIA’s anniversary celebration will be the KLIA Awards 2010 this Saturday, where Malaysia Airports will be honoring its business partners and agencies’ for their excellent performance in 2010 and encouraging them to perform even better in the future.
“The outstanding performances by all agencies at KLIA are the fundamental KLIA’s vigor, driving KLIA to scale greater heights and continue its quest to become one of the leading hubs in the world, Tan Sri Aris added.