MAHB PLANS TO SET ASIDE RM100m FOR AIRPORTS 4.0
Airport operator has also set aside initial RM30m for implementation of big data analytics system
MALAYSIA Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) is planning to allocate RM100 million over the next five years for Airports 4.0, a digital initiative across selected local airports.
Airports 4.0 emphasises connectivity and real-time information reporting to provide a digitalised total airport experience.
MAHB acting group chief executive officer Raja Azmi Raja Nazuddin said the airport operator was confident of fully implementing the initiative within five years, adding that the move would not affect operating costs.
“We had also allocated an initial RM30 million for the implementation of the big data analytics system and framework. MAHB’s annual passenger growth is about six to eight per cent. Our cost growth shouldn’t go up more than three per cent,” he told NST Business.
With Airports 3.0 in place at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), many processes that occur throughout a passenger’s journey have been digitalised, such as self check-in, selfbag drop and digital way-finding through a mobile application.
Embarking on Airports 4.0 would enable a fully-integrated ecosystem promising a seamless travel experience by relying on business intelligence and digitised data collected across the passenger’s journey.
Airports 4.0 encompasses infrastructure enhancement, capacity development and digital innovation.
“The more efficient the airport, the better it will be for the airlines. This, in turn, would improve passenger growth,” said Raja Azmi, adding that MAHB’s international airports would also need to go through the Airports 4.0 framework.
He said MAHB’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation margin had been increasing due to cost-optimising measures despite the increase in concession fee.
“Our cost optimisation and investment strategies are palatable to the board to get returns in the medium term. What we do for KLIA can be applied at some airports. But we will not implement the same system in smaller airports because they vary in design and infrastructure.”
Raja Azmi said MAHB preferred to handle growth without incurring major costs while looking at innovations such as the visual guide digital system.
He said MAHB was also looking at digitising its airport operations through business intelligence and a fully-integrated ecosystem.
He said the up-to-date monitoring and management of information would eliminate stress during airport queuing and processing, while better slot management would allow airlines to increase flight frequency.
“It’s not just a matter of coping with the increasing number of passengers. We cannot keep adding capacity just to serve extra number of passengers. We also need to improve the efficiency of our system.” MAHB’s network of airports registered a 7.6 per cent growth to 128.61 million passengers last year from 119.56 million passengers in 2016.
Raja Azmi said airport operator needed to take proactive measures to chart their future.
“Airport operators in Asia have the highest growth. That is why we have the airport hub strategy to focus on delivering more passengers and airlines from the Asian side. When there is growth, we have to make sure we take the share of that growth rather than taking on difficult markets.”
Last year, 11 new airlines flew into MAHB’s airports, of which 10 were Asian carriers.
“We are very fortunate that we have three runways at KLIA. We have the capacity of up to 75 million. For the short term, MAHB can handle the growth but we have to think beyond that.
“Airports 4.0 will ensure that we see some improvements in passenger experience in the next three to four years. For the short term, we can automate our baggage handling and check-in system,” he added.