Ba'kelalan Airport (BKM)

Ba'kelalan Airport (BKM), also spelt Bakalalan, is the short take-off and landing airport (STOLport) for Ba'kelalan, a group of nine Lun Bawang villages in the highlands of Limbang Division, Sarawak. The villages sit at about 910 m, 4 km from the Indonesian border in Kalimantan. The airline recorded here is AirBorneo, which took over all former MASwings services on 1 January 2026.

Flights from Ba'kelalan Airport

Direct domestic flights recorded from Ba'kelalan Airport go to:

• Bario, at Bario Airport (BBN): AirBorneo

AirBorneo's Twin Otter Rules at Ba'kelalan

As reported in August 2026, Ba'kelalan's flights use the Twin Otter, and the runway limits those services to nine passengers. Under AirBorneo's Conditions of Carriage, Twin Otter check-in is only at the airport counter; there is no online check-in. Check-in deadlines vary by airport, so confirm Ba'kelalan's with AirBorneo, and be at the boarding gate at least 30 minutes before departure.

The free checked baggage allowance on the Twin Otter is 10 kg, plus one cabin bag of up to 7 kg measuring no more than 29 x 33 x 36 cm. AirBorneo does not accept unaccompanied minors on Twin Otter flights. Check the current terms in AirBorneo's Conditions of Carriage before you pack.

Entering Sarawak

Malaysian citizens need a pass to enter Sarawak, under Section 66 of the Immigration Act 1959/63. For a stay of up to three months, Malaysians from Peninsular Malaysia can get the single-journey Document in Lieu of Internal Travel Document at the immigration counter in the arrival hall when they first land in Sarawak, on an identity card (or a birth certificate for a child under 12). A longer stay needs a Restricted Travel Document, valid for five years, and as of September 2026 the Immigration Department lists a Sarawak issuing office under the name Lawas/Ba'kelalan.

To leave Sarawak on a domestic flight, carry an identity document, a valid pass and your boarding pass.

The Upgrade Announced in August 2026

On 28 August 2026 the Deputy Transport Minister announced approved federal funding, from the Airport Development Fund, to upgrade the terminal at Ba'kelalan STOLport and extend its runway where site conditions allow. The same announcement covered Long Banga STOLport. The reason given was the nine-passenger limit on Twin Otter services, which a longer runway is meant to raise, and work was then targeted to start in 2026 once the design was ready.

Reaching Ba'kelalan by Road

Overland, Ba'kelalan is reached from Lawas, the nearest town, on a former logging road of about 125 km, passable by four-wheel drive. The road is at its worst in the rainy season. Federal funding for the first phase of a Lawas-Ba'kelalan road was approved in September 2009 and shortened the journey, but reported travel times differ, so allow several hours.

The Road to the Border

Buduk Nur, one of the Ba'kelalan villages, is on the road to the Customs, Immigration, Quarantine and Security (CIQS) complex at the border, with Long Midang on the Indonesian side. In February 2025 that road was reported as badly deteriorated and impassable in places in the wet season, with further federal repair funding requested but not yet approved.

The Ba'kelalan Villages

The nine villages are Buduk Nur, Long Langai, Long Lemumut, Long Ritan, Long Rusu, Pa Tawing, Buduk Bui, Buduk Aru and Long Rangat. A 2003 count put the population at about 1,030, mostly Lun Bawang and mostly belonging to the Sidang Injil Borneo church. The name joins the Lun Bawang word ba', meaning wet or paddy land, with Kelalan, the river that runs through the settlement.

The villages also have a 9-hole golf course laid out on natural, unmanicured ground.

Adan Rice, Apples, Salt and Strawberries

Ba'kelalan's own rice is Highland Adan Rice, a small-grained variety grown in irrigated paddies at Buduk Bui and Long Langai on water from the Kelalan river. It is planted in August and September and harvested from January.

Ba'kelalan is described as the first place in Malaysia to grow apples commercially, on an orchard of about 3 hectares with some 2,000 trees of seven varieties, including Manalagi and Rome Beauty, harvested twice a year. The orchard is described as run by Tagal Paran and his son, with plans to plant 4,000 apple trees. Commercial strawberry growing began in 2015.

Salt comes from springs at Buduk Bui, Pa Komap and Punang Kelalan, where about 24 families boil it out the traditional way for extra income, roughly 40 kg a week between them. Sarawak's Forest Department upgraded the salt-processing facility at Buduk Bui in 2015.

Weather and Cancelled Flights

AirBorneo's Conditions of Carriage count adverse weather among the causes of cancellation or delay outside its control. In those cases the airline has no immediate obligation to carry, re-route or refund you, though it says it will make reasonable efforts to assist. On 1 September 2026 haze led AirBorneo to cancel some Sarawak flights even though runway visibility at the departure airport stayed above its minimum, so leave slack in any onward plans.