Bintulu Airport
Bintulu Airport (IATA: BTU, ICAO: WBGB) is an airport serving Bintulu, a town in the state of Sarawak in Malaysia. The airport is located 5.5 km southwest of the city, and although small, it is able to handle planes as large as a Boeing 747. In 2008, the airport handled 417,918 passengers and 16,787 aircraft movements.[1]
History of Bintulu airport began in early 1937 when the British colony built an airfield situated between a river at one end and the sea coast at the other end.
Bintulu old airport was open for operation on 1 September 1955, with a grass-surface runway catering for de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide and Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer aircraft operated by Borneo Airways Limited.
In 1963, bigger types of aircraft such as DC-3 services were introduced. In 1966, the runway was resurfaced with bitumen and the terminal building was also extended to cater for increasing number of passenger.
On 1 July 1968, Malaysia-Singapore Airlines introduced scheduled Fokker 27 services into Bintulu. The terminal building and the parking apron was extended in 1981 to accommodate Fokker 50 aircraft.
In September 2005, first low-cost airline in Malaysia, AirAsia started operating in Bintulu airport. FlyAsianXpress (FAX),subsidiary company for AirAsia has taken over major domestic routes linking Bintulu, started its operation on 1 August 2006, until 30 September 2007. On 1 October 2007, Malaysia Airlines subsidiary, MASwings took over the link connecting Bintulu.
[edit] Airlines and destinations
Airlines Destinations
AirAsia Kuala Lumpur, Kuching
Malaysia Airlines Kuala Lumpur, Kuching
Malaysia Airlines operated by MASwings Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Miri, Sibu
