Sultan Ahmand Shah is the official name for the airport in Kuantan and it is named using the name of the current Sultan of Pahang. The airport is located 15 km from the capitol of Pahang called Kuantan.
In comparison to the other airports that are located in Malaysia such as the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT), the airport in Kuantan looks rather small, quiet and not as busy as the airports that were mentioned earlier. But if you look at it from the perspective of the Malaysian standard the airport can be considered as being quite busy as there are at least three flights daily by Malaysian Airlines (MAS) to and from Kuala Lumpur. If you plan to fly to Kuantan you should take note that only Malaysian Airlines operates this route.
There are even direct and connecting flights from MAS overseas destinations such as Paris, London and Frankfurt. These types of flights are also quite frequent at the Kuantan airport, with daily arrivals and about 5 times a week for departures. In fact there are even direct and connecting MAS flights from Paris-Charles De gaulle Airport, London’s Heathrow airport and Frankfurt from Germany to the Kuantan airport. Usually the people flying into the state of Pahang are the guests of Club Mediterannee located at Cherating as well as the tourists who are visiting the state and other states that are situated at the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. There are also many expatriates flying into Kuantan who are working there and its vicinities too. As for the international flights they will usually make a stop over in Kuala Lumpur first fro immigration and customs check before proceeding to Kuantan.
The Kuantan commercial aviation center began its operation since the 1960s and the new terminal building was officially opened by HRH the Sultan of Pahang, Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah on the 27th of October in 1992. After that in the 1970s upgrading of the airports as well as the extensions to make the landing lanes and tracks longer were done to accommodate the influx of foreign tourists. This was also due to the establishment of Club Mediterranee at Cherating as well as the completion of the Hyatt Hotel in Kuantan. Since then newer hotels and resorts have since sprouted all along the beaches and commercial areas of the state of Pahang.
The need for better aviation was also due to the fact that there were strong business and economic growths. There were also the increase of commercial ventures and industries in the industrial estates situated around Kuantan, also not forgetting is the ever increasing population of the people in Kuantan. So it was only a matter of time before someone saw the potential of setting up a commercial aviation center there.
The airport as the ability to accommodate up to a million passengers a year and in 2005 it is estimated that the Kuantan airport handled about 299,000 passengers from about 3,500 flights. There are ample car parks at the airport and it is considered cheap if compared to the car parks located at the much larger airports. Since car park charges on an hourly basis, you should only use it for dropping off passengers, if you are the one that is flying off to somewhere and the trip will take a few days it is best that you take a taxi to the airport.
Despite being a small airport you will find that the terminal building houses a variety of small outlets and counters that sell a variety of items such as local batik and hand made handicrafts. There are even agencies at the airport where you can do your bookings of the resorts and hotels, travels and tours around the state or even the country as well as taxi services all for the convenience of the travelers.
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