SEPANG: Just four-and-a-half months after it resumed operations, the aerotrain at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) will undergo another overhaul beginning today.
The system, which only restarted operations on July 1 after a two-year shutdown, will be put under downtime for 10 hours a day – from 9pm to 7am – until Dec 15.
Since it resumed operations in July, the aerotrain has faced 19 operational issues, four of them major. This month-long overhaul will be part of a sweeping inspection and testing programme aimed at fixing the recurring glitches and restoring passenger confidence.
During the downtime period, buses will be deployed to ferry passengers between the main terminal and the satellite buildings, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) managing director Datuk Mohd Izani Ghani said.
“For greater passenger comfort, more flight departures and arrivals will take place at the main terminal building to reduce the need for transfers,” he told a press briefing on the comprehensive action plan for the aerotrain at Sama-Sama Hotel here, yesterday.
Seeking a smooth operation: Mohd Izani (third from left) at the media briefing on the comprehensive action plan for KLIA’s aerotrain at Hotel Sama-Sama, Sepang. — FAIHAN GHANI/The StarThe plan will involve inspection, testing, alignment and verification for Stage 1 starting today, followed by system and vehicle testing in Stage 2 beginning Dec 1 and trial operations starting on Dec 15 under Stage 3.
Mohd Izani said the action plan was developed within the two-year defects liability period (DLP).
Asked if there might be a need to extend the period of inspections, Mohd Izani said an announcement will be made on any changes.
'CLICK TO ENLARGE'He said an independent assessment would be done to conduct comprehensive technical and operational audits while the Land Public Transport Agency (Apad) will perform a formal safety inspection.
“Since resuming operations on July 1, the aerotrain system has served about seven million passengers and completed over 53,000 return trips, recording an Operational Service Availability (OSA) of 98.41%,” he added.
Mohd Izani said only four major glitches were recorded that involved various technical disruptions, once in July and September as well as twice in October.
“The four incidents are the ones that I would say caused the trains to halt operations. The rest were minor glitches, sometimes just system errors,” he added.
Mohd Izani also affirmed MAHB’s commitment to strengthening the reliability of the aerotrain system, adding that the action plan was developed to resolve issues ahead of Visit Malaysia 2026 (VM2026).
“We are mindful of VM2026. Even though there were incidents, passenger flow has remained smooth and no one has missed their flights according to our records,” he added.
On the possibility of an anti-graft probe, Mohd Izani said MAHB would cooperate with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over any investigations involving the RM456mil aerotrain project.
“I have not received any requests for them (MACC) to come. But we are open to cooperating with the agency,” he added.
Earlier this week, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the MACC was free to investigate the aerotrain project, which was fully funded by MAHB and did not involve any government funding.
Mohd Izani also clarified that the system had resumed earlier although the actual launch operation date was December, and dismissed claims that the aerotrain was forced to operate earlier due to the Asean summit.
