Layang-Layang Airport ( English: Swallow Reef Airport) is located on

Swallow Reef Swallow Reef, also known as ms, Pulau Layang-Layang, lit=; vi, Đá Hoa Lau; Mandarin ; Celerio Reef ( tl, Bahura ng Celerio, lit=), is an oceanic atoll of the Spratly Islands administered by Malaysia, which is situated approximately northwe ...

(Pulau Layang-Layang) in the

Spratly Islands The Spratly Islands ( fil, Kapuluan ng Kalayaan; zh, c=南沙群島/南沙群岛, s=, t=, p=Nánshā Qúndǎo; Malay, id, Kepulauan Spratly; vi, Quần đảo Trường Sa) are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea. Composed ...

of the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phi ...

. It is about north of

Kota Kinabalu , image_skyline = , image_caption = From top, left to right, bottom:Kota Kinabalu skyline, Wawasan intersection, Tun Mustapha Tower, Kota Kinabalu Coastal Highway, the Kota Kinabalu City Mosque, the Wism ...

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory o ...

. The airport serves a Royal Malaysian Navy naval station (Station Lima) and a 3-star diving resort as well as a marine research facility, MARSAL (Marine Research Station Pulau Layang-Layang).See

for more information.

Background

The runway's original length was 1,064 metres, but is now after an extension was completed in 2003. The airport was built in the period 1991 to 1995 by the

Malaysian Government The Government of Malaysia, officially the Federal Government of Malaysia ( ms, Kerajaan Persekutuan Malaysia), is based in the Federal Territory of Putrajaya with the exception of the legislative branch, which is located in Kuala Lumpur. Mala ...

as part of a plan to exploit the

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

potential of the island. The island is administrated by

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, but as with all of the Spratly Islands, is disputed territory.

Airlines and destinations

Facilities

The airport consists of a paved runway, two hangars, a

radar station Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, wea ...

, a control tower and

watchtower A watchtower or watch tower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to ...

s. The concrete runway is 1367m long, 28m wide, and has a

Pavement Classification Number The Aircraft Classification Number (ACN) – Pavement Classification Number (PCN) method is a standardized international airport pavement rating system promulgated by the ICAO in 1981. The method has been the official ICAO pavement rating system f ...

of 032RBXU, indicating a medium strength rigid pavement, with a high maximum tire pressure. The airport is dual-use, serving both military and civilian aircraft. Layang Layang Aerospace operates Nomad N22C aircraft to and from

Kota Kinabalu International Airport Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) is an international airport in Kota Kinabalu, the state capital of Sabah, Malaysia. It is located approximately southwest of the city centre. In 2017, 8 million passengers passed through the air ...

. The

Royal Malaysian Air Force The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF, ms, Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia; TUDM; Jawi: ) was formed on 2 June 1958 as the Royal Federation of Malaya Air Force (; ). However, its roots can be traced back to the Malayan Auxiliary Air Force format ...

operates C130 Hercules transport planes and CN-235 maritime patrol aircraft to and from

Labuan Airport Labuan Airport is an airport that serves the federal territory of Labuan in Malaysia. The airport is or by road from Victoria (Labuan Town). It was planned for Labuan Airport to be a regional hub for connecting flights within the Association ...

. Currently MASwings operates seasonal charter flights to the airport during the dry season using ATR72-500.

References

*Infobox information source: http://www.airports-worldwide.com/spratly_islands/swallow_reef_spratly_islands.php *Most parts of article head, background and facilities sections are taken from article:

. {{authority control Airports in Malaysia Airports in the Spratly Islands

Background

Airlines and destinations

Facilities

See also

References