Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) is committed to ensure that operations at all its airports, including the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) terminals, apron and taxiways are safe. In a statement Tuesday, MAHB said the differential settlement at KLIA2's apron and taxiways were only affecting 2.3 per cent of the total 1.48 million sq metre which resulted in the ponding and depression issues. "Safety is of utmost priority to us and we adhere to a stringent regulatory regime by the Department of Civil Aviation in accordance to the International Civil Aviation Organisation standards and recommended practices," it said.
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MAHB was responding to recent news reports that the budget passenger terminal in KLIA2 was sinking with cracks appeared in the taxiways and water pools that planes must drive through.It said since KLIA2 opened in May 2014, a joint inspection committee involving all stakeholders was formed to conduct onsite inspection and verification on the rectification works plus managing both short-term and long-term solutions.
"The short-term solutions include routine patching works and resurfacing or overlay works while long-term solutions consist of construction of concrete slabs and injection of polyurethane material at affected parking aprons and taxiways," MAHB said.The maintenance works were expected to reduce to a minimum level in the next five years, it said.
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Asia's biggest budget carrier AirAsia was considering court action against KLIA2 operator MAHB after claiming some of its planes were damaged by the terminal's poor soil conditions.The airline's chairman Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said he could no longer hide his frustration with MAHB's management, which he described as incompetent for its lacklustre response to AirAsia's repeated complaints about the various problems affecting the budget terminal.
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"MAHB cannot keep sweeping things under the carpet. The board and the management has to be responsible. There is no safety issue at the moment, but let's not wait for one to happen," Fernandes said."In my 15 years of experience, we have never had what he had the other day. That was during Raya and the flight was delayed for eight hours.
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"MAHB, the board and its CEO, they must start taking responsibility. We at AirAsia are weighing all our legal options and taking legal case against them is not out of the question," he added.Fernandes did not state the estimated losses the airline has incurred due to the damages to its planes as a result of soil issues at the terminal, but said it was enough to merit legal action.
