Kota Kinabalu Intl. Airport (BKI/WBKK) is a regional airport roughly 10km southwest of Kota Kinabalu itsself, the capital of Sabah area in the northeast of Malaysia. The airfield is home to AirAsia, FireFly and Malaysian Airlines plus you will see some cargo (like Raya Airways B767) and military movements from time to time. It handles roughly 7 million passenger a year and offers beautiful backgrounds for spotting.

Written by Gerrit Griem. Last Update: Summer 2024

Rating
Movements
Airline Variety
Photo Locations
Weather
Airport Information
Runways
02/20	3780m / 12402ft
Terminals
T1	In the southeast handling all major passenger flights
T2	In the northwest handling some charter and cargo flights
Spotting Information
Ladder	A small 1-step ladder is very helpful here otherwise you need to try to shoot thru the poles and mesh at the gates/fence which can be tricky for moving aircraft.
Car/Public Transport	A car is recommended to get around as it also offers shadow to hide.
Drinks/Food	Some shops and stops around the airfield, but around the spots there is mostly just airport fence and some trees. So bring with you what you need.
Hotels	The Flypod Hotel in the northeast offers nice views onto 20 movements (see spot #4).
Season	We recommend January till July, during the summer it does get hot and humid with quiet a lot of haze.
Security	Security is not a big deal here: they do not care about you standing right by the fence. But during military movements try to keep a low profile obviously.
Runway Usage
General Info	Totally depending on the wind, there was no preferred direction during our visit.

	Spot #1 – Tanjung Aru Beach – All 02/20 movements
WHERE	Head towards Tanjung Aru Beach on Jalan Johor: on your way down south to the beach you will pass the airport perimeter fence on your left offering nice views onto the runway. You can easily stop by the roadside and simply start spotting here.
WHAT	From here you can see all movements on the runway.
TIME	From later noon/afternoon till sunset.
MISC.	The fence here is not that high, one step is enough to clear the view. Otherwise there is nothing around
FOCAL LENGTH	50-250mm

BKI-Spot1

BKI-Spot1

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BKI-Spot1

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View from a 1-step ladder over the fence towards the runway:

	Spot #2 – Tower – All taxiway + 02/20 movements
WHERE	From the airport tower, take the small path “Lorong Kurau” towards the west/fence where you will end up at a crash gate from where you can see the runway and taxiway in front,
WHAT	In general all movements on the runway and taxiway but best when 02 is active.
TIME	From sunrise till early noon.
MISC.	You can either shoot between the poles/gate parts or with a small 1-step ladder over the fence.
FOCAL LENGTH	24-200mm B738 on the taxiway = 35mm / A320 on the runway = 140mm

BKI-Spot2

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	Spot #3 – Jalan Cempaka – All movements
WHERE	Yet another crash gate at the end of a small road turning of Jalan Cempaka Road. You can drive up here with your car and then just park next to the crash gate.
WHAT	In general all movements on the runway and taxiway but best when 20 is active.
TIME	From sunrise till early noon.
MISC.	You can either shoot between the poles/gate parts or with a small 1-step ladder over the fence.
FOCAL LENGTH	24-200mm B738 on the taxiway = 35mm / A320 on the runway = 140mm

BKI-Spot3

BKI-Spot3

	Spot #4 – Flybod Hotel – 20 movements
WHERE	At the northeastern corner of the airport you will find Flypod Hotel from where you can spot onto the runway from out of the rooms facing west. Ask for a room offering runway view once booking a room here – for example via Booking.com.
WHAT	Good for 20 runway movements.
TIME	From sunrise till early noon.
MISC.	From out of the room it is very tough to shoot arrivals as the window does not open completely as you can see below. We recommend to head to the bar for arrival pictures: there you will find a small “terrace” (roughly 1m big) from where you can nicely see the arrivals.
FOCAL LENGTH	50-300mm

BKI-Spot4

BKI-Spot4