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Penang International Airport , previously known as the Bayan Lepas International Airport, is situated outside the Bayan Lepas suburb at the southeastern end of Penang Island, Malaysia. The airport is located 〔 south of George Town, the capital city of Penang. It is one of the oldest airports in the country, being opened in 1935 when Penang was part of the Straits Settlements. Penang International Airport is a medium-sized airport with good connections to major cities in South East Asia. The airport serves as the main airport for the northern region of Malaysia. Passengers arriving or departing from the north will have a view of George Town, Butterworth, and both the Penang Bridge and the Second Penang Bridge. Waiting times for check-in and baggage claims are relatively short compared to other larger regional airports. The airport is not crowded and basic facilities are available for users. In 2013, over 5.48 million passengers used Penang International Airport. 60,020 aircraft movements were registered.〔 Penang International Airport is the third busiest airport in the country, after Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Kota Kinabalu International Airport, and second busiest in terms of international passenger and cargo traffic after Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The airport is the hub of two low-cost carriers, namely Airasia and Firefly. Penang International Airport won the Best Emerging Airport (Asia) award in the 23rd annual Asian Freight and Supply Chain Awards 2009 (AFSCA) and Airport of the Year (below 15 million passenger annually) in the 2009 Frost and Sullivan Asia Pacific Aerospace and Defence Awards. ==Facilities== There are ongoing discussions between airport operator, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB), Ministry of Transportation, and Asia's largest low cost carrier, AirAsia about setting up Malaysia's third low cost carrier terminal at the airport. In October 2008, Firefly was urged by the Chief Minister of Penang, Lim Guan Eng to build a budget terminal, termed "community terminal" to better cater for the needs of budget travellers. He also called on the Federal Government and MAHB to consider renovating the current airport terminal to higher standards. Reports in newspapers recently suggest that the new low-cost carrier terminal is approaching final stages. A parcel of land (36 hectares) has been reserved by Penang state government for the purpose. In NCER economic region, there is a proposal to build a new bigger and modern passenger and cargo terminal. An additional runway is also planned to cater increasing air traffic. In the Mini-budget announced by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, who is also the Finance Minister, on 10 March 2009, RM250 million has been allocated for the expansion of the airport to increase the capacity from 3.5 mil to 5 mil per year.〔("Highlights Of The 2009 Mini-Budget" ), "My Sin Chew", 10 March 2009〕〔("A shot in the arm for Penang" ), "Business Times", 12 March 2009〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Penang International Airport」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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