Departure
95%
vs 95% ▼ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Sultan Ismail Petra Airport serves Kota Bharu on Malaysia's east coast, a former RAF wartime airfield turned busy regional gateway with a single long ILS-equipped runway. It is the second-oldest airport in Peninsular Malaysia and a notable point of historical interest as the site of the first Japanese landings in Malaya in December 1941.
Sultan Ismail Petra Airport (ICAO: WMKC, IATA: KBR) lies at Pengkalan Chepa, serving the city of Kota Bharu in the state of Kelantan and also drawing traffic from Besut in neighbouring Terengganu. Operated by Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad, it is the busiest airport on Malaysia's east coast and has grown from a small former RAF station into a regional hub now capable of handling Boeing 737-800 and Airbus A320 traffic. For a visiting VFR pilot, its long single runway, ILS approach and rich wartime history make it a notable stop on the east coast of the peninsula.
The airport sits at Pengkalan Chepa on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, close to Kota Bharu city, at coordinates 6.1678N, 102.291E. It lies within Malaysian controlled airspace served by Kota Bharu Tower and Ground, with the aerodrome elevation at 13 feet above mean sea level.
The airport has a single physical runway, 10/28, measuring 7,853 feet and surfaced in hard asphalt. Both directions are lit, and runway 10 is equipped with an ILS approach, giving instrument-capable access from the east.
Ground movements are handled on Kota Bharu Ground at 121.6 MHz, with Kota Bharu Tower operating on 122.5 MHz. An instrument landing system serves runway 10, supporting precision approaches into the field.
The airfield began life as a British military airfield, RAF Kota Bharu, and holds a significant place in Second World War history as the site of the first Japanese landing in Malaya, on 8 December 1941. After the war the site was converted to civilian use, initially operating as Pengkalan Chepa Airport. Commercial aviation at Kota Bharu dates back further still: the inaugural commercial flight arrived on 6 April 1938 following a route survey by Wearne's Air Service, and regular scheduled flights linking Kota Bharu with Singapore, Penang and Kuala Lumpur began on 3 April 1940, making this the second-oldest airport in Peninsular Malaysia. A new terminal building project begun in September 2000 was completed in June 2002, after which the airport took on its current name honouring Ismail Petra, the 28th Sultan of Kelantan. Major runway works followed in 2010, when a contract to extend the runway from 1,981 metres to 2,400 metres and to add a taxiway, helicopter pads, a meteorological station and an instrument landing system was carried out, with the work completed around September 2011. Further expansion phases followed through the 2010s and 2020s, including a new terminal building that began operations on 1 May 2024.
The airport today handles substantial passenger and cargo traffic as the principal gateway to Kelantan, with ongoing expansion works to increase capacity. Flying training has long been associated with the field: the former terminal building was used by the Asia Pacific Flight Training school, and in 2008 Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad built a new hangar, apron, and aircraft and helicopter parking bays along with taxiway improvements to support the growth of that flying school. Helicopter charter operations are also based at the airport.