AirAsia says not moving to Terminal 1
Published on: Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: Air Asia Bhd will go against an August deadline to relocate its operations to Terminal I of the Kota Kinabalu International Airport, saying the new Malaysia Airport Bhd facility will affect its growth plans. Its Chief Executive Officer Aireen Omar on Tuesday said the decision to stay put at Terminal II was made after calls to address "various limitations" at the new facility were not addressed by the airport operator properly.
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She said relocating will not only impact the airline's growth but also local travellers and tourism in Sabah. "We're not moving to Terminal I, and we have made the necessary appeal to the Transport Minister (Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai) and he is currently looking into this." "We can't move in because things are not in order," she told reporters, here. AirAsia was supposed to begin operations in Terminal I here on Jan 1 this year, but this was postponed to August, after several extensions had been given. Towards this end, meetings held between the budget airline and MAB to resolve all issues over the relocation have all faltered.
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According to Aireen, the design of Terminal 1 would not be able to facilitate the low-cost carrier's expansion plans in the next few years. Aireen believed MAB may not have given much thought to the matter in its master plan, adding that it will be just a matter of years before the new terminal is overwhelmed based on their growth plans. She said AirAsia is now forced to defer the inclusion of two more aircraft to eight since 2012, due to the growing flight frequencies in Sabah at present.
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"We understand our business model. But I'm not sure whether MAB understands us. "We know the potentials and know what we are doing and how to stimulate the market." "But MAB now asks us to move into a facility that doesn't allow us to operate and grow in a manner we hope to," she said. She felt that MAB should not have disregarded the traffic AirAsia has brought in to Sabah, adding that relocating will affect its business, local travellers and tourism. Aireen said passengers of international flights will be made to pay RM65 from RM32 for service charge at the new facility, saying the over 100 per cent increment will 'definitely impact travel.' Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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