Time to elevate Malaysian hospitality

A SEAMLESS arrival and departure.

In a nutshell, this is what travellers and tourists who enter and leave Malaysia would like – a hassle- and stress-free experience.

And that should be the number one priority for Malaysia Airports, as Malaysia’s chairmanship of Asean this year and Visit Malaysia Year 2026 are set to increase passenger traffic in all our major airports in the next two years.

Regardless of the merits or missteps in the sale of Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd’s (MAHB) shares by the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), the privatisation exercise will see an impending takeover of operations at its 39 airports nationwide.

And while the exercise has been fraught with controversy, if it is finally executed, the new owner/operator will have their hands full with legacy issues at Malaysia Airports.

Last December, our flagship airport, Kuala Lumpur Inter_national Airport (KLIA), was ranked first among 355 airports in the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Global Performance rankings.

But the award appears to be a bit of an aberration, as according to Skytrax global airport rankings 2024, KLIA is a lowly 71st – far behind the likes of Singapore’s Changi (No 1) and Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport (No 5).

The Skytrax World Airport Awards are coveted quality accolades for airports across the world and a global benchmark of excellence.

The awards are given based on a global survey conducted by Skytrax. Passengers are asked to rate airports according to their experience at different points, including check-in, arrival, shopping, security and immigration, and departure at the gate.

It should be noted that Skytrax in 2001 ranked KLIA as the world’s second best airport!

How far have we fallen.

Facilities at the airport, which was built in 1998, are dated and beset by problems.

Chief among them is the aerotrain service linking KLIA’s satellite building with its main terminal.

The aerotrain broke down in March 2023, and has since been suspended, forcing passengers to use an inconvenient bus service to shuttle between the terminals.

Other issues at the airport in recent times are long queues at immigration counters, leaky ceilings and a slow and inconsistent baggage-handling system.

Last year, another survey, UK-based Business Financing, ranked KLIA as the eighth worst airport in Asia based on data from airlinequality.com that takes the average ratings from business travellers to rank airports globally by continent and country.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke was right to question the methodology of this survey, saying at that time that the government lent more weight to KLIA’s position from the more reputable ranking by Skytrax.

Loke, however, pledged to improve its Skytrax ranking, acknowledging that KLIA’s maintenance and conditions have deteriorated in recent years, partly due to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns.

But the need to upgrade is more urgent now, with increasing passenger numbers putting a strain on airport facilities.

The Malaysian Aviation Commission forecasts that total air passenger traffic this year will exceed a record 100 million travellers and may reach as high as 120 million.

These changes cannot come sooner. The aerotrain was supposed to be operational at the end of January but is now scheduled to resume operations by June 2025, a delay of more than two years.

This is entirely unacceptable, and heads should have rolled for this fiasco.

The replacement aerotrain will be in tandem with an airport makeover, which will include self-baggage drop-offs, a redesign of the check-in counters, new baggage handling systems, and new lounges and food and beverage (F&B) outlets.

I used KLIA a few days ago on my way to and from Bangkok, with mixed feelings.

I felt the new immigration app – MyBorderPass – was a game changer, and using it was a breeze. Setting it up was straightforward. You do not even need to use your passport at the immigration counters.

It literally took me less than a minute from the time I opened the app to completing the process at the counter. Kudos to the Immigration Department for introducing this feature.

While clearing immigration was a breeze, getting in and out of KLIA was a different kettle of fish altogether.

Traffic heading into the airport was backed up for at least a kilometre, and it took me at least 20 minutes to unload my luggage from my ride when I arrived and about the same time upon departure.

The haphazard parking and drop-offs did not help because the traffic policemen on duty were swamped.

Ironically, the VIP lane just adjacent to the entry doors was completely traffic-free. One wonders just how many times a day these “VIPs” use this special access.

Wouldn’t it make sense to allow all passengers access to both public and VIP lanes?

KLIA and, to a certain extent, our other regional airports are the first point of contact for tourists.

We rightfully take pride in our Malaysian hospitality, but it’s time we extend the same pride to our airport services, infrastructure, and facilities.