Kota Kinabalu International Airport

The airport began as a military airfield built by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.[3] It was then known as Jesselton Airfield (Kota Kinabalu was known as Jesselton at the time). Towards the end of the war, it suffered severe bombings by Allied Forces.[4]

After the war, the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) of North Borneo (now Sabah) took over the operation and maintenance of the airport. In 1957, the original grass strip runway was resurfaced with bitumen material and a new terminal was built.[3] By 1959, the runway had been extended to 1,593 metres to enable the operation of Malayan Airways' turboprop Viscount aircraft. In 1963, the runway was further reinforced and lengthened to 1,921 meters to cater for Comet 4 jet operations. Commercial flights and passenger arrivals gradually increased and a larger terminal building was needed. By 1967, Cathay Pacific Airways had begun operating a twice-weekly Convair 880 jet service between the airport and Hong Kong with an intermediate stop in Manila.[5]

In 1969, a British consultancy firm was appointed to formulate a Master Plan for a phased and organised development of KKIA over the next few decades. The master plan was submitted to the government with recommendations to:

• reinforce and extend the runway to 2,987 metres to cater for Boeing 707 and 747 jet operations
• build a new terminal complex and parallel taxiway connecting to the runway
• provide navigation equipment, communication facilities and a modern light system for the runway

In the 1970s and 1980s, a new terminal building was built on the other side of the runway from the original terminal. Almost all commercial flights were shifted to this newer and larger terminal. Subsequently, the original terminal became known as the Airport Lama ("Old Airport"). In 1992, the DCA of Sabah was corporatised and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad took over the management and operations of the airport.[3] A further expansion project for both terminals began in 2006, and in January 2007 the original terminal was rebranded Terminal 2 whilst the newer terminal became known as Terminal 1.

As a major economic and leisure hub in Malaysian Borneo, the airport has witnessed the arrival of various Asia-Pacific carriers throughout the years, past operator of the airport includes Air Macau, Airphil Express, Asiana Airlines, Australian Airlines, Cathay Dragon, Cathay Pacific, China Northern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Dragonair, Far Eastern Air Transport, Fly Asian Xpress, HK Express, Indonesia AirAsia, Korean Air, Lucky Air, Mandarin Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Jetstar Asia Airways, Shenzhen Airlines, Silk Air, Singapore Airlines, South East Asian Airlines, South Phoenix Airways, Thai AirAsia, Thai Airways International, Thai Smile, Tiger Airways, TransAsia Airways, Uni Air, Vladivostok Air, Wings Air and Xiamen Airlines, among few. As of 2020, most of the routes by these previous airlines has been superseded by other airline operators.

Terminal 2 was closed on 1 December 2015 and all airlines shifted their operations to Terminal 1.[6] There are plans to use Terminal 2 for cargo operations and general aviation.[7]

In mid-2005, the Malaysian federal government approved major renovation and refurbishment works to the main terminal (Terminal 1) as well as a runway expansion project worth RM1.4 billion. The project saw the runway extended from 2,988 m (9,803 ft) to 3,780 m (12,402 ft) and the size of the main terminal increased from 34,000 m² (370,000 sq ft) to 87,000 m² (940,000 sq ft). Terminal 1 can accommodate four Boeing 747s, one Airbus A330, seven Boeing 737s, three Fokker 50s and three Dorniers at any given time. It has 12 jetways for passenger use.[8][9] The air traffic control tower, which had hitherto been attached to Terminal 1, was demolished and replaced by a stand-alone tower. Due to delays in upgrade works and disputes between the Department of Civil Aviation of Malaysia and the contractor responsible for the project, the runway extension and upgrading of the ILS (Instrument Landing System) was delayed to Q1 2014.[10]

Schematic map of the airport

As a result of this expansion, the airport is now able to accommodate the world's largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380. It has also become the second largest airport in Malaysia, with an annual capacity of 12 million passengers – 9 million for Terminal 1 and 3 million for Terminal 2.[11]

Generally, flights operating into and out of KKIA are serviced by narrow-body aircraft. However, during school holiday seasons, airlines such as Malaysia Airlines[12] may upgrade their flights to wide-body aircraft, particularly the Airbus A330-300. Additionally, KKIA was the first airport in Malaysia to welcome the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, operated by Royal Brunei during several product introductory flights in November 2013.[13] As to date, the largest aircraft to have utilize the airport are the Boeing 747-8,[14] B777-300ER[15] and Airbus A350 XWB.[16]

• 6 June 1976 – A chartered Sabah Air aircraft carrying several government ministers crashed in nearby Sembulan upon descending towards the airport, killing 11 passengers including the then-Chief Minister of Sabah Tun Fuad Stephens.[31]
• 4 September 1991 – A chartered Grumman Gulfstream II aircraft crashed into a hill while on approach to the airport, killing all 12 people on board.[32]

• 
  Royal Brunei Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner taking off
• 
  MASwings ATR72-500 parked
• 
  Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER taxiing
• 
  Korean Air Airbus A300 on the tarmac
• 
  Dragonair Airbus A321 after landing

• Kota Kinabalu International Airport at Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad
• Kota Kinabalu International Airport at Borneo Trade

• Current weather for WBKK at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for BKI at Aviation Safety Network