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.

“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.