Langkawi Intertnational Airport (LGK/WMKL) serves Malaysias most important tourist island. The airport has a capacity of 4 million passengers and handled around 3 million in 2019. Traffic is dominated by domestic flights, with Kuala Lumpur clearly being the top destination with multiple daily flights by Malaysia Airlines, Air Asia, Batik Air Malaysia and Firefly (to Subang). Air Asia has become the most important airline and serves some other domestic routes, as well as Singapore (also served by Scoot). Flydubai started daily flight to Dubai via Penang in 2024. Langkawi hosts the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA) every two years in May with plenty of military movements taking place during the show. The Royal Malaysia Air Force regularly uses the airport for training flights, so with some luck you can catch a Hercules, A440M or some other military movements when visiting. There is also a quite busy flying school based at LGK using smaller Diamond aircraft.

Written by Björn Düwel. Last Update: April 2024

Rating
Movements
Airline Variety
Photo Locations
Weather
Airport Information
Runways
03/21	3810 meter – asphalt
Terminals	One terminal serving all flights.
Spotting Information
Ladder	Not needed at any spot.
Car/Public Transport	A car or a scooter is highly recomended to get to the spots. Public transport is very limited and walking is no fun because of the heat and humidity.
Drinks/Food	Several small restaurants and take aways at the beach along the southern airport road and at the nearby Pantai Cenang beach.
Hotels	A large selection of hotels to suit every budget can be found around the airport, espacially at the nearby famous Pantai Cenang beach.
Season	Best season is from December until April with less rain and clouds. Temperatures are very high all year round. Be sure to have enough sun protection and always plenty of water whith you.
Security	No problems with police and security around the airport.
Runway Usage
03/21	Due to the hills north of the airport, all arrivals use runway 03 and all departures use runway 21. Only exception are the small aircrafts of the local flying school.

	Spot #1 – Jalan Kedawang Road – all movements
WHERE	The spot is at the end of Jalan Kedawang road. It is a very small road which runs parallel to the airport fence for ~100 meters. Part of the road is elevated, so it is possible to take pictures over the fence. Parking space is limited here and as the road is very narrow take care not to block it.
WHAT	All arrivals and departures as well as a view of the apron.
TIME	Sunrise until noon. Apron shots only possible in the very early morning because of the heat haze.
MISC.	Nothing nearby, so bring what you need. Some trees spending shadow here.
FOCAL LENGTH	50 – 150mm (runway), 200 – 250mm (apron)

LGK-Spot1

LGK-Spot1

LGK-Spot1

LGK-Spot1

LGK-Spot1

LGK-Spot1

	Spot #2 – Lavigo Resort – 03 arrivals
WHERE	At the end of small dead end road near the Lavigo resort is this location. There is enough space to park your car and you can stay in your car when waiting for arrivals. There is a big open field between the spot and the approach path. There are plans to build a huge new residential area there. So it is not sure how long this spot will be useful.
WHAT	Arrivals on runway 03 only.
TIME	Sunrise until noon.
MISC.	Nothing nearby, so bring what you need.
FOCAL LENGTH	200 – 250mm

LGK-Spot2

LGK-Spot2

LGK-Spot2

	Spot #3 – Jalan Kuala Muda Road – 03 arrivals
WHERE	This spot is located alongside Jalan Kuala Muda street running parallel to the runway 03. Just park you car wherever you like by the roadside, there is plenty of parking space available.
WHAT	Arrivals on runway 03 only.
TIME	Evening until sunset
MISC.	Some trees spending shadow. Restrooms and some small restaurants can be found on the nearby beach (see spot #3). Landing aircarft are still high enough so the fence will not disturb your view.
FOCAL LENGTH	50 – 100mm

LGK-Spot3

LGK-Spot3

LGK-Spot3

	Spot #4 – Beach – 21 departures
WHERE	Once again along the Jalan Kuala Muda road but now stay next to the entrance to a small beach. There is plenty of parking space here. Stand next to the street on an small strip of grass.
WHAT	Late rotating departures on runway 21.
TIME	Evening until sunset.
MISC.	Late departing aircraft (A320 und B737) should be already high enough so the fence will not disturb you. Some small restaurants and a toilet is located at the beach. If it gets too hot, you can jump into the sea to cool down.
FOCAL LENGTH	100 – 150mm

LGK-Spot4

LGK-Spot4

	Spot #5 – Open field – 21 departures
WHERE	Drive down the street from spot 4 for another minute. There is a large open field between the street and the runway. You can park you car on the field next to the street. Early rotating departures on runway 21 (ATR72). should be high eneough so the fence will not disturb the view.
WHAT	Early rotating aircraft on runway 21.
TIME	Evening until sunset.
MISC.	Nothing nearby, so bring what you need. Some trees spending shadow.
FOCAL LENGTH	250 -300mm

LGK-Spot5