Operations at KLIA Main Terminal has normalised over the last two weeks
SEPANG- We would like to announce that operations at the Main terminal of KL International Airport (IATA Code: KUL) has normalised since 2 September when the operational response teams stood down. However, our IT teams are continuing to monitor the stability and performance of the network and systems.
The recent network disruption was unprecedented in the airport’s history whereby the systems had experienced unusual activities during the recovery process. This had caused a delay in bringing the systems back to normal. We regret that we are unable to provide more details on this at the present moment as the matter is undergoing a police investigation.
The primary objective in our contingency plans was to contain the impact of the network disruption, prevent more flight cancellations, and mitigate the effect on passengers. Through the strenuous efforts and teamwork of the airport community, we had also avoided closure of the airport.
Our top priority during the critical period was in minimising the impact on all affected passengers and getting them safely to their destinations. We are immensely grateful to the airport community at KUL especially our partner airlines, the ground crew, the airport concessionaires, the Royal Malaysia Police, the Department of Immigration Malaysia, as well as all Malaysia Airports staff who had selflessly volunteered their time. We are also highly appreciative of the help from companies such as Nestlé and McDonald’s which sponsored food and drinks for the passengers.
Hard lessons were learnt from this experience and we will use them to move forward. Our Business Continuity Management (BCM) unit is already working on a list of improvements to further fortify our contingency plans and prevent a recurrence.
Prior to the disruption, we had already begun a Digital Transformation programme in 2018 to achieve our Airports 4.0 goal. We are reviewing the timeline of the Digital Transformation initiatives to see what adjustments are needed. A technology mapping exercise and an evaluation of our current business were part of the groundwork to kickstart the Digital Transformation. The ultimate goal is to be able to monitor operational functions in real time for all our airports anytime, anywhere, for example via a mobile phone.
A critical component of the Digital Transformation programme is a refresh of the Total Airport Management Systems (TAMS). TAMS is not a hardware or a software system. It is an IT approach to integrate information flows for operations, management and security. TAMS was a world first in 1997 and it was Malaysia Airports that led the innovation on TAMS. Our target in the TAMS refresh is a 40 percent increase in operational efficiency and productivity by 2022.
The second key driver in the Digital Transformation programme is to simplify the passenger journey and provide a seamless passenger processing experience. Key projects under this pillar are to pilot and implement single token facial recognition, upgrade the MYairports mobile application, and introduce interactive digital displays into terminals.
Looking ahead, our priority is to restore stakeholder confidence in our skill, experience and reliability, as well as to maintain KUL’s 21-year track record as an innovative leader in airport operations.