KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) has confirmed that Subang Airport will see the resumption of jet operations next month with six airlines receiving approval to operate interim narrowbody aircraft services within four years.
Mavcom told Business Times that the slots for the interim jet operations were provided by the National Slot Coordination Malaysia (NSCM) in collaboration with the aviation regulator and the Transport Ministry.
All three local airlines mentioned in Business Times' article earlier today – FlyFirefly Sdn Bhd (Firefly), Batik Air Malaysia Sdn Bhd and AirAsia Malaysia, a unit of AirAsia Aviation Group (AAG) - had received approval for their slots at Subang Airport.
"AirAsia, Batik Air Malaysia, Firefly, SKS Airways Sdn Bhd and two foreign airlines have successfully received approval for their slots to operate narrowbody aircraft out of Subang Airport during this interim period," a Mavcom spokesperson said in a reply to Business Times' query.
In its website, Mavcom said it is responsible for monitoring and providing oversight in the management of slots allocation process while the process of slot allocation is managed by the NSCM.
Mavcom also said the exact date of the resumption of jet operations at Subang Airport will be confirmed by Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB).
An announcement on the launch of the narrowbody aircraft services and all the airlines that will operate out of Subang Airport, also known as Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport (SAAS) is expected to be made in the coming weeks.
MAHB, the company that operates SAAS, told Business Times that the narrowbody aircraft services will begin next month without stating a date.
"We are in the midst of conducting the Operational Readiness Activation and Transition (ORAT) right now in preparation for it," the airport operator's spokesperson said when contacted.
Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), the parent company of Firefly as well as AAG and Batik Air Malaysia have confirmed the start of their jet operations out of Subang Airport next month.
AAG's chief executive officer (CEO), Bo Lingam said AirAsia will be flying out of SAAS starting August 30 with twice daily flights to Kota Kinabalu and Kuching while Batik Air Malaysia CEO, Datuk Chandran Rama Muthy said the airline will fly to domestic destinations.
MAG's group managing director, Datuk Captain Izham Ismail told Business Times in an interview in May this year that the group plans to fly to domestic Malaysia and Asean destinations out of Subang.
On the two foreign airlines that will begin services from Subang Airport, Mavcom did not provide the names of these carriers besides saying that the companies have received slots for interim jet operations out of Subang Airport.
MAHB also did not mention the names of the two airlines as it said it is still early to announce which carrier will be flying out of SAAS.
Aviation industry sources have said one of the foreign carriers is believed to be Singapore Airlines' budget carrier, Scoot, although its spokesperson told Business Times that it could not share any details at the moment.
However, Scoot CEO Leslie Thng had said in May this year that the airline is keen to operate its brand-new Embraer E190-E2 from Singapore to Subang once the airport is ready for jet operations.
Aviation industry sources said up to 15 slots in total for single-aisle aircraft movement are believed to be given to airlines that will operate out of the Subang Airport.
Mavcom said aircraft movement is under the purview of the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) and MAHB.
"Matters with regards to aircraft movement and the frequency of airline take-offs is within the purview of CAAM and MAHB, and therefore would be best addressed by them," the aviation regulator said.
Business Times had contacted CAAM for a comment on the Subang Airport aircraft movement once narrowbody aircraft operation starts.
CAAM said it has yet to receive the movement schedule from MAHB.
Mavcom and CAAM are both aviation regulators in Malaysia. The latter overseas the technical and safety aspects of air operators while Mavcom reviews the economic, financial and commercial aspects of air operators.
The resumption of jet operations in Subang Airport comes following the completion of phase one of the Subang Airport Regeneration Plan (SARP) that was announced by Transport Minister Anthony Loke in February 2023.
MAHB senior general manager for strategy Megat Ardian Wira Mohd Aminuddin told Business Times in an interview in March this year that the phase one redevelopment, which started in December 2023, includes building up to five parking bays for narrowbody aircraft and six parking bays for turboprop airplanes.
He said Subang Airport would be able to handle single-aisle aircraft types such as Boeing 737s as well as Airbus A320s and A321s upon completion of the phase one project.
The resumption of narrowbody aircraft services would also see the airport handling up to three million passengers annually from the current 1.5 million.
Megar Ardian also said MAHB is discussing with the Ministry of Transport on SARP's phase two and phase three. These stages of redevelopment would see Subang Airport increasing its capacity to handle up to five million passengers and eight million passengers a year respectively.