THE recent systems failure that disrupted operations at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) last weekend could cost Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) hundreds of millions of ringgit in compensation, The Star reported today.  

The report said airlines were mulling seeking compensation for their losses from MAHB.

One airline chief executive officer said the cost to his airline during the four-day glitch was easily more than RM6 million, while another airline claimed to suffer more than RM10 million in losses as some passengers cancelled their flights and asked for refunds. 

MAHB had to shift to a manual timetable after a systems failure caused major flight delays at the Sepang airport recently. 

The delays had forced airlines to incur additional costs, including accommodation for its passengers. 

“There were still intermittent disruptions up to midday yesterday, especially at the back-end, even though the IT experts, including those from Cisco, were still trying to change the hardware and stabilise the network,” said an expert.

The Transport Ministry yesterday said it had formed a committee to determine the cause of the network failure.

Its minister, Anthony Loke, said a six-man committee will establish why the Total Airport Management System (TAMS) had crashed, resulting in long queues and flight delays at the country’s main air hub.

“The committee will also suggest steps to improve the service and ensure the incident does not occur again in the future,” Loke had said.

He had said the committee had a month to come up with its recommendations.

The committee will be chaired by the ministry’s secretary-general, Mohd Khairul Adib Abdul Rahman, Malaysian Aviation Commission executive chairman Dr Nungsari Ahmad Radhi, Mavcom commissioner Long See Wool, Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) member Afzal Abdul Rahim, CAAM chief executive officer Ahmad Nizar Zolfakar and National Cyber Security Agency chief executive Md Shah Nuri Md Zain.

The network failure affected the flight information display system, check-in counters, baggage-handling system and Wi-Fi connection, as well as the credit card system at the airport’s retail outlets and eateries.

The technical issue is reportedly the first-ever major complaint at KLIA since it opened in June 1998.

Previous disruptions to operations were due to power failure. The hub saw a total blackout and flight delays in September 2003. – August 27, 2019.