Malaysia Airports further easing screening of passengers from Sabah

SEPANG (Bernama): Malaysia Airports has implemented additional initiatives to further smoothen Covid-19 screening for all arrivals from Sabah at the airports it operates.

Malaysia Airports in a statement on Monday (Sept 28) said among the initiatives were the deployment of mobile food and beverage (F&B) carts at the test waiting areas so that passengers could purchase light refreshments while waiting.

"The elderly, disabled, pregnant mothers and families with young children will be given access to priority lanes to help ease their arrival process.

"Additional seats are provided at the arrival gates and along the flow path to the testing area, while passengers wait for their turn to be tested,” it said.

There were 12 flights carrying 1,400 passengers from Sabah at the KL International Airport (KLIA)'s main terminal on Sunday (Sept 27) and 19 flights with 2,300 passengers at the KLIA2 terminal.

In anticipation of a surge in arrivals from Sabah on Monday, Malaysia Airports said it had notified the Health Ministry and all relevant authorities of the expected flights.

For Monday, it said there would be 10 flights arriving at KLIA and 19 flights at KLIA2.

On Sunday, Malaysia Airports and the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) distributed complimentary food packs to passengers who were waiting their turn to do the test.

"We will continue to work with Nadma to distribute complimentary food and drinks to passengers and work with the F&B providers to extend their operating hours," it said.

The F&B operators such as Starbucks, Kopi Kita, Needs Convenience and WHSmith Convenience have been requested to stay open beyond the normal time of 8pm for passengers’ convenience.

On Saturday (Sept 26), Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah announced the requirement for individuals arriving from Sabah to undergo Covid-19 screening from Sept 27 until Oct 10.

Malaysia Airports said additional manpower from its aviation security and customer experience teams had also been deployed to render assistance on the ground and help ensure physical distancing.- Bernama