Jeffrey Kitingan calls for new Sabah international airport

Jeffrey Kitingan, president of Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR), has called for the construction of a new international airport in Sabah to address the risks associated with Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) relying on a single runway.

The proposal follows a recent temporary closure of the KKIA runway for rectification works, which disrupted at least 20 flights and impacted passengers and local businesses. Kitingan noted that while KKIA's design capacity is nine million passengers annually, it exceeded this figure in 2019 with 9.4 million travelers. He argued that increasing terminal capacity without addressing the single-runway vulnerability is insufficient, as any emergency or maintenance work will continue to cause significant operational and economic disruptions.

Kitingan suggested the Papar-Kimanis area as a potential site for a new airport, pending comprehensive technical, environmental, and economic studies. He also urged for a study into the feasibility of adding a second runway at the existing KKIA site as a potential solution. In contrast, the federal government previously stated it has no plans for a new airport in Sabah, with Transport Minister Loke Siew Fook emphasizing the priority of expanding and optimizing the current capacity of KKIA.