KOTA KINABALU: STAR President Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey G Kitingan is urging the construction of a new international airport to reduce Kota Kinabalu International Airport’s (KKIA) dependence on a single runway.
This call comes following KKIA’s temporary runway closure on September 17 for maintenance work, which disrupted 20 flights before reopening at 11:30 PM after safety inspections were completed.
According to Jeffrey, this incident demonstrates the operational risks inherent when Sabah’s primary airport relies on just one runway.
“Continued reliance on a single runway creates substantial operational and economic risks for Sabah. Sabah needs a new international airport,” he stated.
He noted that KKIA’s design capacity of nine million passengers annually was already exceeded in 2019 when the airport handled approximately 9.4 million passengers.
Jeffrey emphasised that plans to expand terminal capacity to 12 million passengers yearly are insufficient without addressing the fundamental single-runway dependency issue.
“Expanding terminal capacity without resolving this core weakness is inadequate. More passengers and additional flights will place greater strain on the existing runway,” he explained.
He proposed the Papar-Kimanis area as a potential site for the new airport, while stressing that the final location must be determined through comprehensive technical, environmental, economic, and accessibility studies.
Additionally, Jeffrey urged the government to explore the feasibility of constructing a second runway at KKIA or implementing interim solutions while long-term planning progresses.
