A New Era Of Travel And Retail At KLIA

 

AS MALAYSIA’S largest international airport, KL International Airport (KLIA) plays a pivotal role in welcoming international visitors.

Last year, KLIA recorded 93.8 million passenger movements, with China, India and Indonesia ranking among the top nationalities.

This recovery, reaching 90% of 2019 passenger levels, has been bolstered by initiatives such as the mutual visa-free policy between Malaysia and China.

Alongside this growth, KLIA is undergoing a vibrant transformation in its retail and dining offerings, setting new standards for the modern airport experience.

A vibrant transformation

At the heart of KLIA’s transformation is the commercial reset initiative, a strategic effort to elevate the airport’s retail and shopping experience.

This initiative has already led to the opening of 791 stores across both terminals, with full completion targeted for mid-2025.

A key focus of this transformation is the revamp of KLIA’s duty-free offerings, ensuring travellers have access to a diverse range of premium brands, exclusive products and enhanced retail experiences.

Beyond duty-free, KLIA is also introducing innovative shopping concepts, including interactive digital storefronts, immersive brand showcases and personalised retail services that cater to evolving passenger preferences.

Through continued investment, strategic partnerships and agility in seizing new opportunities, Malaysia Airports remains committed to redefining the passenger journey—ensuring a seamless, engaging, and world-class shopping experience at KLIA.

This is exemplified by the recently revamped Eraman Duty-Free Mall at the international departure at the Main Terminal Building, KLIA Terminal 1.

Operated by Eraman Malaysia, the mall offers an extensive selection of chocolates, cosmetics, perfumes and spirits, highlights include South-East Asia’s first Charlotte Tilbury airport store, alongside enhancements like self-checkout kiosks and upcoming RFID technology.

Meanwhile, the Eraman Duty-Free Emporium at KLIA Terminal 2 is set for completion by November, further driving innovation in travel retail.

Beauty retail remains a key focus, with Dimensi Eksklusif expanding its Dimensi Beauty store at KLIA Terminal 1, now featuring luxury brands like Helena Rubinstein, Maison Margiela and the exclusive Prada Beauty.

A taste of Malaysia

KLIA’s dining scene blends 40% local flavours with 60% international cuisines, driving a 40% increase in food and beverage sales compared to 2019.

Eateries like Petit Cafe Chef Wan, Jibby Chow and Serai offer authentic culinary experiences that leave a lasting impression.

As Malaysia Airports Holding Bhd commercial services senior general manager Hani Ezra Hussin puts it, “An authentic culinary experience gives travellers a memory worth cherishing and sharing.

“Striking the right balance between the local authentic and international familiarity makes airport dining a memorable part of the journey.”

Celebrating Malaysian craftsmanship

The Sense of Malaysia stores showcase the country’s rich cultural heritage.

These stores feature artisanal crafts, traditional delicacies and fashion items from over 30 local brands, including Borneo Pearls, Kapten Batik and Royal Selangor.

This focus on storytelling through local arts and craft has boosted souvenir sales by 40%, creating meaningful connections between travellers and Malaysia’s heritage.

“The cultural story behind products drives engagement, proving how powerful storytelling is in shaping consumer choices,” Hani noted.

Airport lounges have also become sanctuaries of comfort, significantly enhancing passenger satisfaction.

Offering amenities like virtual reality games, spas and transit hotels, lounges contribute 61% of KLIA’s Services segment’s revenue, ensuring travellers are well-rested and refreshed.

Redefining airport retail excellence

As KLIA prepares to welcome the world for Visit Malaysia Year 2026, it continues to raise the bar in passenger experience, retail innovation and cultural storytelling.

Through enhanced facilities, immersive shopping experiences and a strong emphasis on showcasing Malaysia’s rich heritage, KLIA is positioning itself as more than just an airport—it is a dynamic gateway that reflects the nation’s vibrant culture, diversity and hospitality.

-thestar online.

KLIA & Langkawi International Airport Are World’s No.1 For Q2 2021

 

SEPANG – KL International Airport (KLIA) and Langkawi International Airport (LGK) are the world’s No.1 airports for Q2 2021 in the latest global Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey by Airports Council International (ACI). Both airports achieved a perfect score of 5.0/5.0 in the industry survey that benchmarks the world’s best airports in terms of facilities and service standards. KLIA was previously in the 9th spot, scoring 4.99/5.0 for Q1 in the over 40 million passengers per annum (mppa) category whereas LGK was in 3rd spot with the score of 4.97/5.00 in the 2-5 mppa category. The global achievement by these two airports is highly significant and marks the organisation’s commitment in ensuring world-class passenger experiences.

According to group chief executive officer (Group CEO) of Malaysia Airports, Dato’ Mohd Shukrie Mohd Salleh, “At KLIA, these encouraging results are a testament to the company’s efforts in continuously maintaining exceptional services and implementing safety measures while it prepares for travel resumption. Major initiatives contributing to the improved performance include the strict implementation of new travel SOPs that heightened a safe and secure travel experience and the opening of 64 newly refurbished washrooms for the continued comfort of passengers.  As for LGK, the refreshed and improved ambience of the terminal resulting from its successful commercial reset initiative continues to contribute to the overall satisfaction of passengers passing through the terminal.”

The airport operator is seeing a gradual uptrend in passenger numbers by recording a 35% increase from the preceding month for overall traffic growth in July 2021. Last month, the Malaysia Airports group surpassed the 3 million mark at 3.3 million total passenger movements for its network of airports for the first time this year with the majority traffic contributed by its Turkish asset, Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (ISG). With the easing of border restrictions and curfews, ISG saw a 35% increase in its total passenger movements at 3 million when compared to the preceding month, reaching 89% of its pre-COVID performance. In fact, the airport’s July 2021 domestic passenger movement performance at 2 million was extremely encouraging as it exceeded the passenger volume for any month pre-COVID in 2019 with 1.5% growth over July 2019.

On the local front, Malaysia Airports recorded nearly 40% increase in total passenger movements at about 260,000 (International: 72,000; Domestic: 188,000) last month as compared to June 2021 for its network of airports here.  

Despite the continued interstate travel ban, border closure, and stricter travel restrictions around the region following new outbreak of cases, the marginal increase is a positive break for Malaysia Airports following the recent Government of Malaysia’s announcement allowing flexibility for those fully vaccinated to travel interstate as well as the reopening of domestic tourism within the same state (for states that have progressed to Phase 2) from 10 August onwards. The airport operator is also looking forward to the pilot project of Langkawi Island emulating the Phuket Sandbox Model by inoculating 80% of the island’s population in a move to open the island to fully vaccinated tourists. Apart from that, there is also the possibility of the resumption of domestic tourism activities across Malaysia in September that will provide the much-needed stimulus to the airports, airline partners and the tourism industry.

-Malaysia Airpoprts Holdings Berhad.