Quiet Melaka airport hopes to fly high with arrival of Scoot flights

Move a boost for tourism and business, but MP says sustainability of new route is crucial

- Lu Wei Hoong

Dimmed lights, shuttered shops and a deserted public carpark greet visitors at the Melaka International Airport, giving the impression that the 72-year-old airport has been sorely underutilised since the last scheduled commercial flight ended in 2023.

Among Malaysia's 13 states, only Perlis and Negeri Sembilan do not have commercial airports. While Melaka does have a commercial airport, its proximity to Malaysia's main gateway Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) has held back its runway success.

Airport officials are hoping that this will change from Oct 23 when Scoot - the low-cost arm of national carrier Singapore Airlines - begins offering five return flights a week from Changi Airport.

The airport in Batu Berendam is located about 10km from Melaka city, which is classified as a Unesco World Heritage city, and 135km by road from KLIA.

Melaka airport currently serves private jets only, with 39 duty staff each day, in addition to officers from immigration, Customs, quarantine and inspection services, a senior airport official said.

To conserve energy, an airport representative had turned off most of the terminal's lights after six private jet passengers from Subang airport disembarked just 10 minutes before The Sunday Times' visit on Aug 13.

The senior airport operations representative said Melaka airport is operationally ready to take up new commercial flights in the coming months. He declined to be identified as he was not authorised to speak to media.

"Currently, there aren't many passengers. Hopefully, with the arrival of Scoot's flights in October, more people will be on board," shuttle bus driver Mohd Ikmal Haizan said.