Kuala Lumpur's three-year-old international airport is on track to become a regional hub, with passenger traffic expected to reach 17 million this year, a senior official said.

Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) would receive a boost when an additional 231 flights a week moved from the old Subang airport on July 4, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd executive director Rosman Abdullah was quoted in The Star newspaper today.

He said five new carriers would start using KLIA in the coming months - Kuwait Airlines, Syrian Airlines, Air Macau, Australian Airlines and Philippines Airlines. The airport currently serves 43 carriers.

Six other airlines - Lauda Air, Gulf Air, Emirates Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Qatar Airways - would also increase frequencies to Malaysia this year, he said.

Roslan predicted that passenger traffic could even reach 18 million this year, which he said was the internationally accepted level for the airport to achieve "hub" status.

The ambitious RM9 billion ringgit airport has suffered a number of setbacks since opening in June 1998, with Aeroflot, British Airways, Qantas and Lufthansa scrapping flights for commercial reasons.

Critical mass

"You need at least 18 million to have a critical mass and build a strong foundation. The key success factor of becoming a hub is passenger numbers; once you have that, it opens many doors as opposed to 14.6 million now," Rosman said.

He said the compound annual growth rate of passenger traffic had been 5.0 percent for the past 10 years, while the International Air Travel Association has forecast growth for Malaysia of 5.8 percent.

"With that, KLIA would have, by 2008, a total of 25 million passengers. That is the capacity the airport is built for," he said.

The government last year waived parking and landing charges for qualified passenger airlines to increase business at KLIA, located some 70 kilometers south of Kuala Lumpur.

Last August, Malaysia Airports announced plans to sell a 30-percent stake to the Dutch Schipol group, which operates Armsterdam airport, to boost KLIA's fortunes.