MAHB urged to solve floods at Penang airport
GEORGE TOWN: The state government has called on Malaysia Airport Holdings Bhd (MAHB) to solve the flash floods at Penang International Airport (PIA).
Tourism Development, Heritage, Culture and Arts Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin said PIA reflected the image of the city and such incidents should not happen as they damaged tourists’ impression of the state.
He urged MAHB to look into the matter and reexamine the cause of floods to prevent reoccurrences.
“There must be a cause for the incidents.
Airport departments should take m a i n t enance action to strengthen airport facilities,” he said yesterday in reference to the flooding at the termi- nal.
Water reportedly rose up to ankle-level following a downpour in Bayan Lepas from about 8.30am to 10am yesterday. Pictures of the flood went viral.
The Meteorology Department recorded a rainfall of 48.8mm.
PIA senior manager Mohd Nadzim Hashim said drainage and on-site detection (OSD) tanks at PIA were functioning well during the downpour.
He said there was no serious delay caused by the flood and the water receded after the rain.
“The parking bay for turboprop aircraft was flooded ankledeep, and the water overflowed into the departure area for the turbo-prop aircraft.
“At the time, 28 passengers of Malindo Air Flight OD 1181, bound for Subang and scheduled to depart at 9.40am, were preparing to board the plane.
“As other parking bays in the airport were occupied, the passengers had to board the plane by walking through the water.
“Other turbo-prop aircraft that were supposed to have passengers board from the same gate were changed to other gates.”