Can Kuala Lumpur unseat Singapore and Bangkok as Southeast Asia’s aviation hub?

Bangkok and Singapore have long been the leading aviation hubs in Southeast Asia, with Thailand’s capital being the main entry point for one of the world’s most visited countries and the city state a hub for global businesses with regional investments.

But Kuala Lumpur has emerged as a rival, particularly when it comes to international travel within Southeast Asia, with AirAsia, the region’s ubiquitous budget airline, having its headquarters in Malaysia’s biggest city and commercial capital.

The carrier recently launched or resumed flights from KL, as it is often called, to Chiang Rai, the northern Thai town and site of the White Temple; and Vietnam’s Dalat, a mountain town known for its temperate climate and alpine scenery.

Malaysia’s official tourism body said the routes showed “the ongoing collaboration between AirAsia and Tourism Malaysia in promoting Malaysia as a prime travel destination within the Asean region”, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, an intergovernmental body made up 10 of the region’s 11 countries, with East Timor waiting its turn to join.

Aviation industry analysis business OAG said in August that Kuala Lumpur International Airport was the world’s second most connected after London Heathrow, with Tokyo Haneda, Amsterdam Schiphol and Seoul Incheon making up the rest of the top five.

OAG said the rankings were based on “comparing the number of scheduled connections to and from international flights with the number of destinations served from the airport”.

AirAsia was listed as the “dominant airline” at Kuala Lumpur airport, operating 35 per cent of flights to and from the two-terminal hub.

The ranking showed Kuala Lumpur’s 137 destinations slightly behind 12th-placed Bangkok Suvarnabhumi’s 154 and the 150 from Singapore Changi in 14th, but ahead when measured by connections within the Southeast Asia region.

The three airports are also widely used layover points for travellers flying from Europe and the Middle East to Australia and the Pacific.

A fourth Southeast Asian airport was listed among the world’s 25 most connected: Soekarno-Hatta on the outskirts of Jakarta, the biggest city in the region’s biggest country, with Manila’s airport making the top 50.