World City Guide

Getting There By Air

Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL)
Tel: (03) 8777 8888. Fax: (03) 8926 5209.
Website: www.klia.com.my

The state-of-the-art Kuala Lumpur International Airport (or KLIA), 43km (27 miles) to the south of the city centre, is a major gateway to South East Asia. It handles flights for over 40 international carriers and in 2001 (latest figures available) the airport served over 14 million passengers. A fast transit train connects the arrival gates with the arrivals hall.

Major airlines: Award-winning national airline Malaysia Airlines (tel: (03) 7846 3000; website: www.malaysiaairlines.com.my) operates both international and domestic flights. Other major airlines include: British Airways, Canadian Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Garuda Indonesia, Japan Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa, Northwest, SAS, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways and rapidly expanding regional budget carrier Air Asia.

Approximate flight times to Kuala Lumpur: From London is 13 hours; from New York is 20 hours 15 minutes; from Los Angeles is 17 hours 45 minutes; from Toronto is 21 hours 45 minutes and from Sydney is 8 hours.

Airport facilities: These include ATMs, bureaux de change, 24-hour shopping, duty free, restaurants, postal services, tourist information, hotel reservations, car hire (Budget and Hertz) medical service, left-luggage and prayer rooms.

Business facilities: These include executive lounges, limousine service to the city and the E-Centre (tel: (03) 8787 2323), which provides telephone, fax, Internet, teleconferencing, postal and secretarial services.

Arrival/departure tax: There is no arrival tax and tickets purchased within Malaysia usually include departure tax. Otherwise RM40 international and RM10 domestic departure tax is payable.

Transport to the city: The new Express Rail Link (tel: (03) 2267 8000; fax: (03) 2267 8910; website: www.KLIAEkspres.com) connects KLIA with the KL KAT Terminal at Sentral Station, in the city centre. There are two airport services – the KLIA Ekspres, which covers the journey in 28 minutes without stopping, and the KLIA Transit, which takes 37 minutes and stops en route at Salak Tinggi, Putrajaya/Cyberjaya and Bandar Tasik Selatan. Fares for both routes are RM35 single and RM70 return. The KLIA Ekspres service starts at 0500 in both directions, with the last trains leaving at 0100 and there is a train every 15 minutes. The KLIA Transit starts at 0532 and finishes at 0032 in both directions with a train departing every 30 minutes.

Taxis can be pre-paid in the arrivals area at the airport and visitors should expect to pay RM60-RM90 depending on the type of vehicle to the city centre (journey time – 40 minutes).