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Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI)
Departures from Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI) at a glance
- 74flights a day2nd busiest of 30 airports
- 12routes from here
- 4airlines
- 05:20 – 23:05first and last
Collected between 28 September 2026 and 30 September 2026. Not live — check with the airline before booking.
Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI) serves Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) operates it. All passenger flights use Terminal 1, which is arranged over three levels, so there is no inter-terminal transfer to work out. Terminal 2 closed to passenger flights at midnight on 30 November 2015, when AirAsia moved to Terminal 1.
Sabah immigration on a domestic flight
Immigration control applies to arrivals in Sabah from Peninsular Malaysia, including Malaysian citizens on a domestic flight. Under Section 66 of the Immigration Act 1959/63 a citizen is subject to having a pass or permit to enter and be in Sabah. Section 66 exemption endorsements are issued only by the Sabah State Immigration Department, and the validity of an endorsement runs with the travel document it sits in.
Immigration counters sit in the arrival halls at Sabah's airports. The Immigration Department issues a document in lieu of an internal travel document there, as an alternative to a Malaysian passport or a Restricted Travel Document for Malaysians from West Malaysia. No payment is required for it.
What the document in lieu covers
The holder is allowed to enter and remain in Sabah on a social or business visit pass not exceeding three months, and the document is valid for a single journey. It is issued to travellers aged 12 and over on an identification card or a police or military identity card, and to children under 12 on a birth or adoption certificate.
Leaving Sabah on a domestic flight
Going the other way, a passenger leaving Sabah on a domestic flight needs one of the forms of identification the Immigration Department accepts. A valid boarding pass is required as well, as proof of genuine passenger status. The accepted forms are:
- a Malaysian international passport
- a Restricted Travel Document
- a Restricted Passport (Brunei)
- a Malaysian emergency certificate
- National Registration Department identification: MyKad, a temporary identification card, a birth certificate or MyKid
- IMM93
- a BAT.C 10 card
- a police authority card
Terminal 1 and its three levels
Domestic and international flights both use Terminal 1. Low-cost and full-service carriers use it too.
The building is arranged over three levels. Level 1 is the arrival level and public concourse, Level 2 is the departure hall, and Level 3 holds international departures and a further public concourse.
Getting between the airport and Kota Kinabalu
There are two public transport options. City taxis operate through a coupon system: charges are fixed by destination, and the coupon counter, run by Persatuan Teksi Limosin LTABKK, is at Level 1, the arrival level.
The city bus service is boarded from Level 1, the arrival concourse. No rail link or e-hailing scheme is listed among the airport's transport options.
For drivers there is an open-air car park with 1,300 bays.
Facilities and services MAHB lists
The table below combines Malaysia Airports' published facilities list and its services list for this airport, with the locations as it gives them.
| Facility | Location |
|---|---|
| Baby care room | Level 2, departure hall |
| Charging station | Level 2, departure hall; Level 3, public concourse |
| Clinic | Level 1, public concourse |
| Muslim prayer room | Level 1, public concourse; Level 2, Gate 2 and Gate 9, departure hall; Level 3, near the information office |
| Smoking lounge | Level 3, international departure |
| Left luggage | Level 1 landside, L1L06 |
| Currency exchange (Bank Islam) | Level 1 landside; Level 3 airside |
| Currency exchange (Global Currency Exchange) | Level 1 landside; Level 3 landside |
| Cash machines (Alliance, Bank Rakyat, CIMB, Euronet, Maybank) | Levels 1, 2 and 3, landside and airside |
| Mobile phone counter (CelcomDigi) | Level 1 landside |
Free WiFi is available throughout the airport. Roving Airport CARE Ambassadors wearing an "Ask Me" sash offer assistance, and there is a Lost and Found centre and provision for passengers who need special assistance.
Airlines and destinations
Direct domestic flights recorded from Kota Kinabalu are operated by AirAsia, Malaysia Airlines, AirBorneo and Batik Air Malaysia, and go to the destinations in the table below. International services depart from the same terminal. Baggage allowances and fare conditions differ by carrier and change without notice, so check the airline's own conditions of carriage before you book.
| Destination | Airport | Airlines recorded |
|---|---|---|
| Gunung Mulu National Park | Mulu Airport | AirBorneo |
| Johor Bahru | Senai International Airport | AirAsia |
| Kuala Lumpur | Kuala Lumpur International Airport | AirAsia, Malaysia Airlines, Batik Air Malaysia |
| Kuala Lumpur | Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport | Batik Air Malaysia |
| Kuching | Kuching International Airport | AirAsia |
| Labuan | Labuan Airport | AirBorneo |
| Lahad Datu | Lahad Datu Airport | AirBorneo |
| Limbang | Limbang Airport | AirBorneo |
| Miri | Miri Airport | AirAsia |
| Penang | Penang International Airport | AirAsia |
| Sandakan | Sandakan Airport | AirAsia |
| Tawau | Tawau Airport | AirAsia, Batik Air Malaysia |
AirBorneo took over the MASwings network
AirBorneo took over all services previously operated by MASwings on 1 January 2026, including the Rural Air Services that reach remote and interior communities. MASwings had operated since 1 October 2007. The transfer followed a sale and purchase agreement signed on 12 February 2025 between Malaysia Aviation Group and the Sarawak government.
Passenger numbers and the expansion on hold
Malaysia Airports reported 802,000 passengers at Kota Kinabalu for the month of December 2025. Across its 39 Malaysian airports the group reported 104.4 million passengers for the whole of 2025, up 11.2 per cent on the previous year.
On 4 June 2026 Malaysia Airports set out proposed upgrading and expansion works at Kota Kinabalu International Airport that would raise capacity from 9 million to 12 million passengers a year. On 8 July 2026 the Deputy Transport Minister told Parliament the project was on hold until the Sabah government finalised land matters around the existing runway.
What catches people out at Kota Kinabalu International Airport
A domestic flight into Sabah is not a document-free trip. A Malaysian citizen needs a pass or permit to enter under Section 66, and a passenger leaving Sabah on a domestic flight has to produce one of the forms of identification listed above as well as a boarding pass.
No opening hours are published for the clinic, the currency exchange counters or left luggage, so check before relying on any of them for an early departure or a late arrival.
The city bus has no published operator or route number. The taxi coupon counter at Level 1 has a published location and charges fixed by destination.
Frequently asked questions about Kota Kinabalu International Airport
Do I need a passport for a domestic flight from Peninsular Malaysia to Kota Kinabalu?
Not necessarily: a Malaysian passport is one option, and Immigration counters in the arrival halls at Sabah's airports issue a document in lieu of an internal travel document to Malaysians from West Malaysia: on an identification card or a police or military identity card at 12 and over, and on a birth or adoption certificate under 12. Under Section 66 of the Immigration Act 1959/63 a Malaysian citizen needs a pass or permit to enter and be in Sabah, and the document in lieu is free and covers a social or business visit pass not exceeding three months. Travellers who are not Malaysian citizens should check their own position with the Immigration Department before booking.
Which terminal does AirAsia use at Kota Kinabalu International Airport?
AirAsia uses Terminal 1. It moved there from Terminal 2 when Terminal 2 closed to passenger flights at midnight on 30 November 2015. Domestic and international flights, low-cost and full-service, share Terminal 1, so there is no separate low-cost terminal to allow transfer time for.
Is there a train to Kota Kinabalu International Airport?
No rail service is listed among the airport's transport options. The options are the coupon taxi system, with its counter at Level 1, and the city bus service boarded from the Level 1 arrival concourse.
Does Kota Kinabalu International Airport have a lounge?
No passenger lounge appears in the airport's published facilities and services listing, so confirm access with your airline or your lounge programme rather than counting on it. The one lounge that listing does name is a smoking lounge, at Level 3 in international departures.
What happened to MASwings flights from Kota Kinabalu?
AirBorneo took over all services previously operated by MASwings on 1 January 2026, including the Rural Air Services. From Kota Kinabalu, AirBorneo flies to destinations including Labuan, Lahad Datu, Limbang and Gunung Mulu National Park.