KUALA LUMPUR: Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) established a new passenger record on September 13, 2025, by processing 12,437 individuals within a single hour between 7 pm and 8 pm.
This record-breaking surge coincided with the Hari Malaysia weekend and the commencement of week-long school holidays, according to Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB).
Terminal 1 managed 6,799 passengers during the peak hour while Terminal 2 recorded 5,638 passengers.
The figure significantly surpassed the typical peak hour throughput of 8,000 to 11,000 passengers, marking the highest volume handled to date.
Across the entire record-setting day, KLIA served a total of 191,000 passengers.
Over the extended holiday period from September 12 to 21, the airport handled 1.8 million passengers, exceeding the 1.7 million recorded during the Hari Raya Aidilfitri peak earlier this year.
MAHB managing director Datuk Mohd Izani Ghani stated that managing this traffic surge smoothly demonstrates KLIA’s capacity to scale with demand.
“Our focus is not just on managing today’s peak volumes but on building future-ready infrastructure and capabilities that strengthen Malaysia’s position as a global aviation hub,” he said.
He added that the company is expanding airline partnerships and embedding technology to ensure passengers enjoy a seamless journey.
KLIA’s momentum was further reflected in its August 2025 performance, with 3.9 million international passengers and 1.6 million domestic passengers.
This brought the monthly total for August to 5.5 million passengers.
Across MAHB’s entire local network in Malaysia, a total of 9.1 million passengers were handled in August, representing a 2.2% increase from July.
The company attributed this growth partly to its expanding airline network, which welcomed two new carriers in August 2025.
Hong Kong Express began operations at Subang Airport while Jiangxi Airlines started services at KLIA.
MAHB said these new airlines strengthen regional connectivity and offer passengers more travel choices across Asia.
Meanwhile, its Turkish asset, Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport, handled 4.7 million passengers in August.
This comprised 2.6 million international passengers and 2.1 million domestic movements.
MAHB manages and operates a total of 39 airports in Malaysia and one airport in Turkey. – Bernama
