For the longest time, we’ve known the Kuala Lumpur International Airports as KLIA and KLIA 2 where the former is used by Malaysia Airlines while the latter is the low-cost carrier terminal where Air Asia operates. The two airports are quite near each other with a distance of 1.5 km and only requires a 3-minute train journey.
Soon, the KL airports will take on new names as they undergo some changes ahead. The Transport Ministry made an announcement earlier today (Thursday, 9th February) that KLIA and KLIA 2 will be rebranded as KLIA Terminal 1 and KLIA Terminal 2 respectively.
During a press conference, Minister of Transport Anthony Loke revealed that the Cabinet agreed on this decision as they believe that it can improve the airports’ marketability and efficiency while also enabling it to compete with other regional international airports.
So when will the two KLIAs be rebranded? At the moment, there is still no information on the exact date for this implementation. According to the politician, both the government and Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) will need to sit down and fine-tune the new operating agreement before proceeding with anything else.
“The government and MAHB will need to finalise and sign the 2023 agreement and other related lease agreements before the end of the first quarter of 2023,” he said. Apart from the airport rebranding, the Pakatan Harapan member also stated that the Cabinet agreed to new material terms under the new operating agreement saying that it would allow both the government and MAHB the flexibility to fund airport development costs.
During the press conference, Anthony also elaborated on the plans for funding, maintenance, and competitive commercial development that will all go under the new operating agreement. As mentioned above, these will be implemented once everything has been finalised by the government and MAHB.
For your information, this would be KLIA 2’s second rebrand as the airport was also once known as LCCT KL, a promotional effort by Air Asia to “reinforce Kuala Lumpur’s position as the leading low-cost gateway to Asia and beyond” back in 2016.
