Subang, Ipoh and Penang post international passenger gains in September

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) reported higher international passenger numbers at Subang, Ipoh and Penang airports for September 2026, bucking a decline across its Malaysian operations. The operator said total passenger movements in its local network fell 12% year-on-year to 7.8 million.

International traffic across the network totalled 4.3 million, a fall of 2.2%, while domestic traffic was 21.8% lower at 3.4 million, according to MAHB.

At Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang, international movements reached 59,000, up 24.1%. Sultan Azlan Shah Airport in Ipoh handled 31,000, an increase of 16.6%. Penang International Airport's international passenger count grew 5.3% to 348,000, representing approximately 57% of its September traffic.

Sultan Ismail Petra Airport in Kota Bharu recorded 5,000 international passengers after new overseas services began in June. MAHB said the expanded terminal opened in April, raising annual passenger capacity to 4.0 million from 1.5 million.

Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) handled about 4.9 million passengers during September. Sun PhuQuoc Airways started its Phu Quoc service on Sept 1, while Gulf Air launched direct Bahrain flights on Sept 30. Gulf Air became KLIA's 10th West Asian carrier, MAHB said.

For the first nine months of 2026, passenger movements at MAHB's Malaysian operations totalled 75.2 million, down 2.4% year-on-year. International passengers numbered 41.3 million, an increase of 4.5%.