KOTA KINABALU: Datuk Christina Liew is urging Malaysia Airports Sdn Bhd (MASB) to urgently upgrade the facilities at Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA).
The Minister of Sabah Tourism, Culture, and Environment made this call following chaotic scenes that unfolded at the airport, unable to handle a large number of passengers arriving at close intervals.
Liew revealed that this occurred when five flights from South Korea, carrying a total of 1,098 passengers, landed at KKIA on Wednesday night (August 2).
According to information from KKIA management, the flights were Jin Air from Incheon at 9.47pm with 385 passengers, Jeju Air (Incheon, 157 passengers), Air Busan (Busan at 10.40pm, 193 passengers), Jeju Air (Incheon at 11.25pm, 179 passengers), and T’way (Incheon at 11.49pm, 184 passengers).
“I have received feedback from tourism players and members of the business community that the toilet facilities are conspicuously inadequate, and there is an urgent need to extend the terminal,” Liew expressed in a statement on Friday (August 4).
“KKIA management informed me that all 10 available immigration counters were open that night.
“Clearly, we need more counters, and I believe a reconfiguration is necessary to ease congestion and streamline the clearance process,” she added.
ALSO READ: RM8.4mil allocated for KKIA upgrades, RM11mil for Tawau airport
While urging MASB to prioritize the implementation of facility upgrades, Liew also expressed regret that her warning about this situation occurring prior to the reopening of international borders had not been acted upon swiftly by the relevant authorities.
She called on KKIA management to begin immediate work on extending the existing toilets to accommodate the influx of international and domestic tourists.
On July 25, Liew had been informed by MASB about allocating RM8.4mil for upgrading the facilities at KKIA during a courtesy call to brief her on the airport’s optimization plan.
Out of this amount, RM1.4mil will be used for enhancing the public toilets at the airport by adding more cubicles, while the remaining sum will be allocated to other upgrading projects. These projects include resurfacing the runway and upgrading the commercial lots and public address (PA) system.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
