12 August 2015
Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said today that AirAsia will not move to Kota Kinabalu International Airport’s Terminal 1 despite the deputy transport minister’s order, saying the directive differed from what was conveyed to the airline.
The AirAsia Group chief said that in a previous meeting with Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, they were given the assurance that they would not have to move.
“The minister of transport made it very clear that we are not going to move because it didn’t make any sense. So, we stand by that and we will stay in terminal 2,” he said.
He also questioned the impartiality of the decision in AirAsia’s long-standing dispute with Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB), noting that Transport Ministry officials sat on the latter firm’s board of directors.
“We question why the secretary -general and the deputy secretary-general sit on Malaysian Airports’ board. How can the regulator sit on the board?” he told the media after announcing musician David Foster as AirAsia’s ambassador for its premium line of in-flight offerings.
“Khazanah’s code of conduct is very clear. That is why mistakes are being made. The regulator should hear both sides of the story then make a decision,” he said
His reaction came after Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi said yesterday that all airlines must move to Terminal 1 of the KKIA, after MAHB complained that AirAsia was adamant on continuing to operate from Terminal 2.
AirAsia has repeatedly ignored deadlines for it to move, claiming that the shift to Terminal 1 would lead to a 100-per cent increase in passenger service charges, lack of expansion opportunities and inefficient operations.
Fernandes further added that MAHB had made a mistake in forcing Airasia to move from the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal to Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2, and the airline did not want to see a similar repeat in the move to KKIA’s Terminal 1.
“It is time for crazy decisions in Malaysia to stop being made. klia2 was clearly a decision that should not have happened. Don’t make another mistake.
“Malaysian Airports’ management had delayed klia2 to by three years, its cost doubled. Surely their credibility is lower than Airasia’s credibility right now in knowing how to run a low cost carrier business. We created the low cost business,” he said.
He added that Airasia were being bullied into the move, being stuck on the losing end of a monopoly on airports by MAHB.
AirAsia is also considering taking legal action against MAHB after saying that some of its planes have been damaged by the terminal’s poor soil conditions.
Original Source: themalaymailonline.com
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