11 August 2015
Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) has outlined several possible options with respect to AirAsia Bhd's complaints about klia2 which might not be in the low-cost carrier’s favour, said managing director Datuk Badlisham Ghazali.
"The solutions we have outlined and are implementing started with the resurfacing. We have added the concrete slabs and are now using the polyurethane compound at bay Q17, but the settlement has to be treated in progressively.
"If you (AirAsia) want a one-time solution, we do not have it because it means closing down the airport," he said, adding that doing it would be a hassle for passengers.
Speaking to Bernama on the sidelines of the just-ended GLC Open Day 2015, Badlisham said since its opening on May 1, 2014 till July 2015, klia2 has handled 26 million passengers.
klia2 is used by many airlines based in Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Australia as well as Malaysia. Yet only one has such a litany of concerns, he said.
Moving back to the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) was never discussed until it was recently brought up by AirAsia, he said.
According to Badlisham, there was no more LCCT as it had been stripped down and works were being done as planned to convert it into a cargo facility.
He said MAHB would not compromise on safety.
"If there is an immediate problem that may impact safety, we will be the first to take action. We will not wait for the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) to tell us to do so.
All the airlines were kept constantly updated about the situation and status, he said.
DCA, in a statement released last Saturday, said the depressions at the klia2's aircraft parking stands and taxiways were identified as situations that might affect the required compliances.
It also stressed that these issues were acknowledged by MAHB and corrective actions – short and long-term – had been implemented.
Badlisham said MAHB has regularly engaged with AirAsia on many levels, where the operational and technical people would talk to their counterparts and discuss solutions.
In fact, he said, klia2 has a total of 74 bays which were adequate to cater to all the airlines' requirements and that meant "we can afford to close certain number of bays provided we give advance notice, which we do."
He also said that bay changes were due to many reasons.
In the recent incident involving AirAsia Indonesia Flight QZ0202 at Bay Q11, Badlisham said MAHB considered the roll-back incident seriously.
Badlisham said MAHB was pleased to note that DCA has recently announced its intention to investigate this particular incident.
On the impact to passengers' confidence using the airport due to issues brought up by AirAsia, he said klia2 has complied with the Aerodrome Certification from DCA which governed the safety and operations of the airport within the tolerance level.
He stressed that safety issue was paramount to MAHB and the RM4 billion airport's compliance was verified by IKRAM Premier Consulting and the International Civil Aviation Organisation. – Bernama, August 11, 2015.
Original Source: themalaysianinsider.com
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