LCCT still on the cards for Penang

GEORGE TOWN (August 7): Former chief minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon gave approval for AirAsia to build the LCCT on a 36ha piece of land at the coastal end of Penang International Airport in Bayan Lepas, said an inside source from AirAsia quoted by The Star. 

“But it met with resistance from the Transport Ministry then due to political reasons, and also because the plan was for the LCCT to be privately run, instead of by Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB).

“AirAsia was planning to make high-volume, short-haul flights to China and India from there.

“Now that there are new levels of political cooperation between the state and federal governments, it will be interesting to see if the 11-year dream can come true,” the source said, reported the daily.

Air Putih assemblyman and Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng lauded the idea of the LCCT. 

He said: “We are not talking about expanding the present terminal but a totally new one that will use the same runway.”

Putrajaya will discuss the LCCT plan with AirAsia and MAHB.

“While AirAsia is very much interested to help, we still need to work out the specifics of the plan,” Lim said, reported The Star.

The LCCT is needed, as the airport in Bayan Lepas currently has the capacity to handle 6.5 million passengers a year, but arrivals have already passed that, and are expected to hit 7.8 million this year. 

Former Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi remembers when the LCCT plan was proposed, back in 2007. 

“Penang is well positioned to be a regional hub for international tra­vellers who fly low-cost.

“Tourists who arrive on full-­service airlines will have plenty of options to travel elsewhere on low-cost flights. So this makes Penang attractive as a prime point of visits for tourists,” he said to the daily.

It was previously reported that AirAsia Group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fer­nandes said there were plans to build an LCCT in Penang.

“A new terminal will help us increase our planes from five to 16 over the next five years. This will bring in about eight million more passengers per annum into Pe­­nang,” he said.

Plans included domestic and international routes.

The Penang International Airport was built in 1935, and is the oldest in Malaysia.