Sandakan Airport is a domestic airport which serves Sandakan in Sandakan District, Sabah, Malaysia. It is located 14 km (8.7 mi) west of downtown Sandakan. In 2005, the airport handled 621,513 passengers and registered 10,876 flights.

Sandakan formerly known at various times as Elopura, is the capital of the Sandakan District in Sabah, Malaysia. It is the second largest city in Sabah after Kota Kinabalu. It is located on the Sandakan Peninsula and east coast of the state in the administrative centre of Sandakan Division and was the former capital of British North Borneo. In 2010, the city had an estimated population of 157,330 while the overall municipal area had a total population of 396,290. The population of the municipal area had increased to 439,050 by the 2020 Census.