Departure
86%
vs 95% ▼ 9
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Langkawi International Airport (WMKL) serves the island of Langkawi in Kedah, Malaysia, sitting close to Padang Matsirat on the western side of the archipelago. It is a substantial international field with a single long runway equipped with ILS, handling scheduled jet traffic from across Malaysia, Singapore, and further afield, making it a notable destination for simulator pilots wanting a tropical island approach over the Andaman Sea.
Langkawi International Airport lies at Padang Matsirat on Langkawi island, Kedah, and is operated by Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad on behalf of owner Khazanah Nasional. It is the main air gateway to the Langkawi archipelago, a popular tourist destination known for its beaches and geoparks, and it also hosts the biennial LIMA aerospace exhibition. For a simulator pilot the airport offers a long ILS-equipped runway set against a scenic island and sea backdrop, with a mix of domestic and international jet traffic.
The airport is situated at Padang Matsirat on Langkawi island in Kedah state, Malaysia, close to the Andaman Sea coast and roughly 25 km from Kuah Town, the island's main settlement. As an international airport handling scheduled airline traffic it lies within controlled airspace served by its own approach, tower and ground frequencies.
Langkawi has a single physical runway, 03/21, oriented roughly north-south. Runway 21 is a hard-surfaced, lit strip 12,490 feet in length, while runway 03 is a hard-surfaced, lit strip of 10,476 feet equipped with an ILS. The difference in published length reflects a displaced threshold on the 03 approach.
Pilots should expect to work Langkawi Approach on 119.4 MHz, with ATIS broadcast on 128.2 MHz, Ground on 121.8 MHz and Tower on 118.5 MHz. An ILS is available for runway 03, supporting instrument approaches to that end of the runway.
The site began as an airfield used by the Japanese Army and subsequently by the British Army in 1945. A 2,500-foot airstrip linked to the main road at Padang Mat Sirat was built in 1961 and entered operation in March 1962 at a cost of RM330,000. Under the Fifth Malaysia Plan, RM107 million was allocated to expand the airport to accommodate larger aircraft, and by 1988 it had been brought up to modern standards alongside five other Malaysian airports. Passenger numbers grew steadily through the following decades, with over 477,000 travellers using the airport in 1992. The airport also serves as the venue for the biennial Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA), which showcases military and civil aircraft, including displays by aircraft such as the Royal Malaysian Air Force's Airbus A400M.
Following a Phase 1 expansion completed around 2018, the airport's single terminal was enlarged to handle up to 4 million passengers a year, with the runway capable of accommodating aircraft as large as the Boeing 747. It is served by airlines including AirAsia, Malaysia Airlines, Firefly, Batik Air Malaysia, IndiGo and flydubai, with routes to Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor Bahru, Singapore, Dubai and Bengaluru; Kuala Lumpur is the busiest route. In 2024 the airport handled just over 2.5 million passengers and 18,180 aircraft movements, making it the sixth busiest airport in Malaysia.