Reopening of its airport from Oct 1 will boost Pangkor as duty-free island

LUMUT, May 22 (Bernama) -- The reopening of Pangkor Airport this coming Oct 1 is expected to further boost tourism and business on the resort island which will be a duty-free destination by early next year.

State Tourism, Arts and Culture Committee chairman, Tan Kar Hing said an airline company, SKS Airways Sdn Bhd, was expected to begin its flights to the island from Subang Airport.

“This is good news for the people in Perak, particularly the residents of Pulau Pangkor, as we all know that this island will be duty-free from Jan 1, 2020.

“Besides promoting Pulau Pangkor, we will start operating the flights earlier for the purpose of familiarisation with the operations before implementing the duty-free status for the island,” he told a news conference after a working visit to the island with tourism industry players.

Pangkor Airport was opened in 1993, with the airstrip measuring 732-metre long, but its flight operations stopped in February, 2014.

Meanwhile, Tan said the conditions at the airport would be looked at again to ensure public safety and comfort at the airport with its reopening.

“Within the next four months, we will be looking out for any inadequacies including parking space for vehicles in the area.

“From discussions with the airline company, we note that it will be using the Twin Otter aircraft model which can accommodate 19 passengers and it will operate daily return flights,” he said.

Tan also said that besides Pangkor, the airline company would also be plying a new route, Subang-Ipoh-Subang, with two return flights daily from Oct 1.

“With this new route, we expect Pangkor Island to enjoy an economic overflow, especially for the tourism industry players and food manufacturers and eateries,” he added.

-- BERNAMA