KLIA Breaks Hourly Passenger Record with More than 12,000 Movements
KL International Airport (KLIA) set a new record on 13 September 2025 by handling 12,437 passengers in just one hour, between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m. The surge coincided with the Hari Malaysia weekend and the start of the week-long school holidays. During this peak hour, Terminal 1 managed 6,799 passengers while Terminal 2 recorded 5,638 passengers. On a normal day, KLIA typically handles between 8,000 and 11,000 passengers in a peak hour, making this the highest throughput to date.
Across the same day that the record was set, KLIA served a total of 191,000 passengers (Int: 130,000 / Dom: 61,000), while over the extended holiday period from 12 to 21 September, the airport handled 1.8 million passengers, surpassing the 1.7 million recorded during the Hari Raya Aidilfitri peak earlier this year.
Airport operations remained seamless throughout the high passenger volume period, a testament to KLIA’s operational resilience. Enhanced passenger flow systems, and upgraded facilities enabled smoother throughput and reduced waiting times, while staff across both terminals worked in full coordination to ensure an efficient travel experience.
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Malaysia Airports’ Managing Director, Dato’ Mohd Izani Ghani, said, “Handling this traffic surge smoothly is a clear demonstration of KLIA’s ability to scale with demand. Our focus is not just on managing today’s peak volumes but on building future-ready infrastructure and capabilities that strengthen Malaysia’s position as a global aviation hub. We are expanding airline partnerships, embedding technology, and driving innovation to ensure passengers continue to enjoy a seamless journey at our airports.”
KLIA’s momentum was also reflected in its August 2025 performance, with 3.9 million international passengers and 1.6 million domestic passengers, bringing the monthly total to 5.5 million. Across the Malaysia Airports local network, a total of 9.1 million passengers were handled in August, a 2.2% increase from July.
Malaysia Airports’ expanding airline network also contributed to this growth, with two new carriers starting operations in August 2025. They include Hong Kong Express at Subang Airport and Jiangxi Airlines at KLIA. These additions strengthen regional connectivity and offer passengers more travel choices across Asia.
Meanwhile, its wholly owned subsidiary, Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (ISG), handled 4.7 million passengers, comprising 2.6 million international and 2.1 million domestic movements.