By DayakDaily Team
SPAOH, Sept 18: Today’s trial flight at Bebuling Short Take-Off and Landing Airport (STOLPort) will serve as a basis for further discussions on operations, including setting the date for commercial flights.
According to Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, the commencement of commercial flights would only be decided after further discussions with the relevant parties.
“In practical terms, the trial flight has been completed and went smoothly. We are very happy that today we were able to see this airport being used,” he said in a press release.
Citing the travel distance between Kuching and Bebuling, he said a flight would cut a three-hour road journey to about 15 minutes, giving tourists a shorter travel option.
In the tourism sector, he said the airport could also become a new gateway for tourists visiting various tourism products in Betong and surrounding areas.
Among the attractions that could be promoted are the replica of Rentap’s Fort at Bukit Sadok, longhouses over 100 years old, and tourism products in Kabong and Batang Ai.
Additionally, he said the facility would not only serve as a passenger transport hub but also had the potential to become a cargo handling centre to support agricultural and industrial activities in the surrounding areas.
“Located in front of this terminal is a packaging centre, while behind it is an agro park spanning about 1,000 hectares. This gives us great potential to bring agricultural produce to external markets,” he said.
At the same time, safety would remain a priority before the STOLPort begins full commercial operations.
Uggah said a set of regulations and standard operating procedures (SOPs) had been established to ensure flight safety, while firefighting facilities had also been provided at the airport, with further discussions on safety, operations, and maintenance to be held before the licensing process and commercial operations were finalised.
Bebuling STOLPort was developed at a cost of RM248,026,341 and has a 1.119-kilometre runway, with the capacity to accommodate aircraft such as the King Air. — DayakDaily
