MAHB improves airport services

SEPANG: Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) has improved airport service and experience ranging from reducing waiting time during checkins, baggage handling services, to providing a conducive alternative to the aerotrain service.

MAHB managing director Datuk Badlisham Ghazali said several successes have been achieved since September, one of which was in reducing queuing and processing time during check-ins.

“Enhanced cooperation with AeroDarat Services, the company that provides ground handling services mainly for Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAS) and several other third party airlines, has resulted in the reduction of five minutes in queuing time to 13 minutes, and the reduction of more than half an hour for the total check-in processing time per flight to 1.5 hours.”

MAHB had also secured the concurrence of several airlines to implement Early Baggage Drop Services. For example, passengers of MAS are now able to check in their luggage 24 hours prior to their departure.

Badlisham said the KLIA Immigration Department had on average doubled the number of counters opened from 10 counters in July.

On baggage service, there were two components to baggage handling, where baggage will have to be manually unloaded from the aircraft by the airline ground handlers to be placed on the conveyor system provided by the airport operator.

“As there is a human element factor in the unloading process, this is where service standards sometimes suffer, when set service-level agreements (SLAs) are not met.

“While there have been improvements of up to five percentage points with regards to SLA performance, the airport operator and airlines are still not satisfied with the inconsistent improvements shown by ground handlers. As such, during the last collaboration meeting, the airlines have stated that they will impose stiffer penalties on their ground handlers to ensure that the SLAs are met.”

MAHB had also provided a conducive alternative to the aerotrain service by deploying six buses to ferry passengers to and from the KLIA Satellite Building.

It had also assigned dedicated mobile customer service officers or CARE ambassadors to usher passengers, monitor their wellbeing, help carry their hand luggage, as well as assist special-handling passengers, such as the elderly and disabled.

Ample signage had also been placed at the aerotrain area to facilitate passengers’ journey to and from the Bussing Lounge.