KOTA BHARU, The first phase of the new terminal at the Sultan Ismail Petra Airport (LTSIP) in Pengkalan Chepa, here, began operations today. Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) senior general manager Kamaruzzaman Razali said that the new terminal is expected to receive 30 to 35 flights and see an increase of 4,000 to 4,500 passengers a day. 'The work to upgrade the LTSIP terminal is progressing well and is expected to be fully completed by 2027,' he told reporters after inspecting the operations of the new LTSIP terminal today. Kamaruzzaman said the upgraded facilities at LTSIP include an increased number of aerobridges compared to the old terminal, which had only three, along with a dedicated route for international passengers. In addition, he said the new terminal is equipped with over 20 flight counters, an elevated car park, a dedicated taxi driver route, a fire and rescue station, a larger apron area, and a cashless operating system for the convenience of passengers. Meanwhile, Kamaruzzaman sa id MAHB is currently in talks with relevant parties to facilitate flights from Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia to LTSIP. He said that the new LTSIP terminal has not been classified as an international airport as it has not scheduled any international flights and must fulfil several criteria. The RM440 million LTSIP expansion and upgrading project aims to enhance facilities and increase the airport terminal's capacity from 1.5 million to four million passengers per year. Source: BERNAMA News Agency