Sibu Airport

Sibu Airport Lapangan Terbang Sibu
IATA: SBW ICAO: WBGS
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Government of Malaysia
Operator	Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad
Serves	Bintangor, Sarikei, Kapit, and Sibu, Sarawak, East Malaysia
Location	Sibu, Sarawak, East Malaysia
Time zone	MST (UTC+08:00)
Elevation AMSL	122 ft / 37 m
Coordinates	02°15′51″N 111°58′57″E / 2.26417°N 111.98250°E / 2.26417; 111.98250Coordinates: 02°15′51″N 111°58′57″E / 2.26417°N 111.98250°E / 2.26417; 111.98250
Map
WBGS Location in East Malaysia
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 13/31 2,745 9,006 Asphalt
Statistics (2015)
Passenger 1,454,360 ( 0.9%) Airfreight (tonnes) 1,304 ( 10.7%) Aircraft movements 21,172 ( 5.9%)
Sources: official web site AIP Malaysia

Passenger	1,454,360 ( 0.9%)
Airfreight (tonnes)	1,304 ( 10.7%)
Aircraft movements	21,172 ( 5.9%)

Sibu Airport (IATA: SBW, ICAO: WBGS) is an airport located 23 km (14 mi) east south east of Sibu, a town in the state of Sarawak in Malaysia. In 2012, the airport handled 1,204,267 passengers on 15,923 flights and also handled 1,612 metric tonnes of cargo. The airport is the 10th busiest airport in Malaysia, and the 3rd busiest in Sarawak.

In April 2009, the airport was given RM 150 million for an upgrade of the terminal building. On 23 September 2010, Sarawak Minister of Finance and Public Health, Dato' Sri Wong Soon Koh had announced that the expansion project would commence.

The upgraded terminal started its operation on 31 July 2012. The airport terminal is the second largest airport terminal in Sarawak, after Kuching International Airport.

The first airport in Sibu was built in Teku, during World War II by the Japanese as a basic air strip. However, the airstrip was heavily bombed by Allied Forces. After the war, the airport was further developed to house basic airport amenities such as departure lounge and public waiting area. The airport was capable to support Fokker F27 Friendship (and later Fokker 50) and Twin Otter flights.

On 15 August 1990, a Lockheed C-130H Hercules belonging to the Royal Malaysian Air Force skidded off the runway and the aircraft had been written off. It was believed that those on board are part of the royal entourage visit to Sibu.

On 2 September 1992, a Fokker 50 aircraft landing gear failed, causing the aircraft to veer off the runway and into the bushes.

The old airport has been demolished to make way for Laila Taib College (formerly known as UCS-United College of Sarawak) and Tun Zaidi Stadium. The runway of the old airport can still be seen and half of it is used as the connecting road for the stadium.