Incompetents dealing a ‘slow death’ to KLIA

Is this news report a spin or accurate?

Strengthening KLIA as an Asean Hub

By NST - September 13, 2017 @ 4:14pm

MALAYSIA Airports Holdings Berhad (Malaysia Airports) is committed in its effort to strengthen the position of Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) as a regional hub by growing its network connectivity and evolving into a service leader. One of the world’s top five airport operator groups, Malaysia Airports manages 39 airports nationwide as well as one in Istanbul, Turkey … for more, go to https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2017/09/279291/strengthening-klia-asean-hub

Incompetents dealing a ‘slow death’ to KLIA

Only in Malaysia are incompetents appointed to both low and high positions in any organisation and corporate entity.

Take the Kuala Lumpur Interntaional Airport (KLIA) management as the classic example of embracing incompetents.

“We have had KLIA putting up buntings wishing locals and tourists ‘Mary (Merry) Christmas & Happy New Years (New Year),” Gerakan Deputy Speaker Syed Abdul Razak Alsagoff said.

National and international shame!

“The KLIA management not only does not how to spell ‘merry’, it also does not know when to use singular or plural in English.

“Yes. It could be the work of incompetents but isn’t there someone in the management to check for mistakes,” he added.

And, now, it is reported that a 2017 report has showed KLIA’s decline in performance from 2011 to 2017 - a good six years of incompetency and inability to deliver improved results.

While Changi has been expanding, improving and evolving in both facilities and services until T4, what has KLIA been doing?

Syed Razak, who is Gerakan’s nominee to contest N.37 Bukit Lanjan in the coming 14th General Election (GE14), said of significant shock was that KLIA was ranked No.8 in the world in 2012 but in 2017, it dived to No.34!

“If this not incompetency, what is? And why is the federal government tolerating the incompetents who are managing KLIA?

“If the federal government, or for that matter any entity, continues with embracing incompetency, the only future is down,” he added.

Here are two damning KLIA-related reports as posted by online news portal The Malaysian Insider (TMI) for readers to chew on:

"Aerotrain breakdowns just tip of KLIA’s problems

Diyana IbrahimUpdated 20 minutes ago · Published on 26 Dec 2017 7:00AM

Kuala Lumpur International Airport opened in 1998 and is one of the busiest airports in the world. However, the multi-billion-ringgit airport’s image has taken a beating with a lack of maintenance of its facilities and complaints of unfriendly service. – EPA pic, December 26, 2017.

THE third breakdown this year of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) aerotrain is the least of its problems, as the national gateway slips to 34th place in a worldwide ranking of airports.

Customer complaints of dirty toilets, unfriendly staff and long queues have caused KLIA to steadily lose its position as one of the top 10 airports in the world.

The decline was reflected in rankings on Skytrax, a London-based research body on the aviation industry. Its annual survey of airports worldwide is based on responses from users.

Its 2017 survey placed KLIA in No. 34 among the top 100 international airports. In 2012, KLIA was ranked No. 8.

However, in the category of airports with that passenger traffic of between 50 million and 60 million, KLIA placed fifth behind Changi in Singapore, Incheon in South Korea, Denver in the United States and Madrid in Spain.

KLIA was also voted by passengers as being better than Suvarnabhumi International airport in Bangkok, Soekarno-Hatta in Jakarta and John F Kennedy in New York.

According to its website, Skytrax World Airport Awards is a prestigious accolade in the aviation industry. It is based on surveys among users of international airports.

According to Skytrax, Passengers’ Choice Awards include responses from more than 13 million respondents from 105 countries who evaluated 550 airports.

It covers user satisfaction with the efficiency of airport processes, terminal cleanliness and comfort, and user facilities.

It also gathers user feedback on immigration staff attitude, police, safety and customs, shops, restaurants, cafes and information counters.

The 2017 report showed KLIA’s decline in performance over the years from 2011 to 2017.

The review page showed a list of recurring issues, such as unfriendly staff, dirty toilets and long queues for immigration checks.

These complaints were also reflected in recent interviews with KLIA users.

Anisah Ramli, for instance, told of her long wait and queue at the automated passport scanning system when she was leaving for Beijing, China.

“The system is new and none of the (airport) staff came to assist us. So, a lot of people took some time getting through and this caused the queues to grow longer,” said the 42-year-old.

“I understand that maybe it is the peak season with school holidays and festivals. There might be a lot of travellers but they could have at least done something to lessen the wait time,” she said.

When she returned 10 days later, Anisah had to endure another queue, this time at the baggage claim area. 

“My flight touched down at 9.15pm but I only got my luggage at 11pm. That’s absurd.”

Anisah was even more annoyed when asked about KLIA’s cleanliness.

“KLIA’s toilets have never been clean each time I’m there, I don’t understand how this can happen.” 

Zazria Zazlynn Zainuddin, 32, who just returned from Australia, also said the same thing about the automated passport scanning system.

“The new system, I pity the elderly... it’s not that there are no instructions... but for the elderly, it’s hard for them,” she said and asked why there was no immigration staff to assist them. 

“It’s different in Perth, they place their officers at the areas near the automatic gates.” 

Zazria is also baffled by the police and customs officers, whom she claimed were nonchalant during the baggage checks.

She said on the day of her departure, the officers were on their phones and sitting down when passengers were going through the check-in zone.

“I think that attitude is worrying because it would be easy to sneak through the system if they don’t care. As a passenger, of course, I’m worried,” she told The Malaysian Insight.

Zazria, who works in the private sector, observed that KLIA staff were not friendly and smiled less.

“Even as Malaysians, we feel awkward with their unfriendliness and the dirty toilets... what more the tourists.”

Zazria added that the level of cleanliness of KLIA toilets did not match its status as an international airport.

“To me, it is very embarrassing. How can the airport’s toilets be that dirty?” she said, adding that it portrays a bad image to the tourists.
KLIA is managed by Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB), a public-listed company started in 1992, which operates, maintains and manages airports in Malaysia. – December 26, 2017. - TMI

Take a leaf out of Changi’s book, say KLIA passengers

Diyana IbrahimUpdated 27 minutes ago · Published on 26 Dec 2017 7:00AM

Passengers on a flight expected to bring in the 60 millionth passenger at Changi airport this year arriving in the transit area of Terminal 2. Singapore’s Changi Airport celebrates hitting a record 60 million passengers passing through the airport on December 18, with 10 million more passengers from five years ago, marking its position as one of the world’s top air hubs. – EPA pic, December 26, 2017.

MALAYSIA should follow Singapore’s lead when it comes to airport management, say travellers in the wake of the latest aerotrain breakdown at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on December 24.

A traveller, who only wanted to be known as David, said the aerotrain incidents in the past are serious and show that Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) is not up to the mark.

“If things like this are happening over and over again and during peak times like public and school holidays, then it’s a serious matter. 

“MAHB management must look into the issue seriously and it should be more prepared for any eventuality, especially during peak periods,” he told The Malaysian Insight at KLIA yesterday.

The aerotrain breakdown caused delays for hundreds of passengers, who were bused from the satellite building to the main terminal. This is the third breakdown this year.

Several videos and photos posted on social media showed the entrance to the trains sealed with tapes and a notice of “maintenance in progress”.

In September, MAHB managing director Badlisham Ghazali said the two trains, which had been operating for nearly 20 years, would undergo a major overhaul by year-end.

David, who had just arrived after visiting China, but said he did not have any problem with the aerotrain yesterday.

“It was okay just now and there weren’t a lot of people. Maybe management had already solved the issue by then.

“But I hope any solution that they come up with is not just short term, but for the long term. - TMI

“KLIA should follow Singapore in terms of management, convenience and consistency.”

In a recent Skytrax survey, Singapore maintained its position as the world’s best airport for five consecutive years. This is in comparison to KLIA, which had previously been listed among the top 10 airports in the world, but has fallen down the ranks for two consecutive years.

However, David conceded that not all the services at KLIA were bad, citing the automatic passport gates for Malaysians as an example.

“The system is a little twitchy with new passports, and sometimes, you have to keep trying a few times before it works, especially when there are a lot of people. But the system should be prepared for this.”

Another visitor at the airport, Qamariah Ghan, 32, said those in charge must take note of all the airport’s weaknesses if they wanted to rebuild KLIA’s reputation.

“Because problems with the aerotrain are recurring, it seems to me like those in charge are not taking their work seriously,” she said.

With her was a friend, Farid Ahmad, 32, who said that users of the service are fed up with the excuses concerning the faulty system.

“The excuse they also use – technical issues – is aggravating. We want to know what they are going to do to fix it permanently,” he said.

“This problem affects the most vulnerable users, such as children and the elderly, who end up having to stand for long periods of time.”

Echoing David’s sentiments, Farid said a permanent solution needed to be found for the problem.

“MAHB management needs to make a decision. Don’t just execute a quick fix.

“If this is not fixed, it will give a bad impression of Malaysia, as the airport is the first introduction travellers get of the country.”

Meanwhile, Siti Aishah, who had just returned from performing umrah, said up until now, she has been satisfied with the services at KLIA and was surprised to hear about the aerotrain incident.

“All this time, I’ve found KLIA to be good, better than other airports. I’ve never encountered any problem.

“Maybe there were just too many people, and the system could not handle it. In this case, the management must find a way to deal with this.” – December 26, 2017."

N.37 LET BUKIT LANJAN SOAR WITH SYED ABDUL RAZAK ALSAGOFF