Get airport priorities straight
I WISH to wade in on the suggestion that only airline passengers be allowed into airports. This is an excellent idea but one that is totally unworkable in Malaysia.
Airports are for passengers. Full stop. They were never meant to be a shopping centre or a social gathering spot. It is not the place to catch up on old stories and exchange selfies. Over a time period, airport operators have forgotten the fundamental use of an airport and have turned them into shopping malls.
While the idea of the airport for passengers only is not a bad one, it is impossible to implement in Malaysia because every Malaysian will try to pull cables to get exempted from the requirement.
Next time you are in KLIA, just look at the inner drop-off and pick-up lane meant for taxis and notice just how many non-taxis are parked at the furthest corners. None of them look like taxis, but they are there, given permission in violation of security protocols.
Therefore, barring non-passengers from entering the airport will never work and the authorities will not be able to monitor and cope. When I was much younger, non-passengers entering KTM platforms to send off relatives and friends needed to buy platform tickets. Perhaps this can be implemented at airports to reduce the number of people turning up.
The argument that retail trade will suffer if non-passengers are barred is a misnomer. This has arisen due to operators turning airports into shopping malls.
At JFK airport in New York, you hardly see any retail outlets before immigration control. Most of them are after passport control.
The priority of American airports is to get flyers through the door quickly via the shortest possible route from the drop-off point into the planes.
It is a very pleasant experience as you do not have to fight your way through countless shops and outlets to get to your departure gate. The Americans have got their priority right – serve the flyers first. We can learn from this.
What our airport-going passengers and non-passengers need is some guidance on etiquette, such as not blocking traffic inside and outside the terminal. This includes not double parking and ensuring your 200kg of boxes and suitcases do not obstruct entrances to lifts and pathways.
Many travellers are aware of airport rules but wait until the last minute to, for example, take their laptop out of their bag or dispose of banned items which cannot be taken into the plane, thus delaying everyone else at security checks.
They talk loudly at eateries, especially at lounges when most people are trying to catch a power nap or enjoy some tranquillity. Allowing your boisterous children to run around in the waiting areas and lounges, disturbing the peace and creating a ruckus is not good behaviour anywhere, let alone at airports.
Security at airports can be tightened with better vigilance all around, both by security forces as well as users. Report anything suspicious. The weakest security spot and the most suspect for any untoward incident is the arrival and departure drive in lanes.
Hundreds of cars wait each day, ignoring the pleas of the outnumbered police to move on. Airport authorities need to clamp down on this. Every airport in the world has no issue of cars hogging dropoff and pick-up lanes.
In some Asean countries, entering the airport in cars is subject to a charge from the outset. One drives into the car park to drop off or pick up. This is a good system to overcome airport congestion and indiscipline
Malaysians are an affluent lot these days. Many have personal drivers or their parents or children to pick them up. After the recent hike in the ERL fares, it is cheaper or almost costs the same to just drive to the airport. Our KLIA looks no different from the Jalan Duta bus stand or KL Sentral or some pasar Ramadan. There are cars everywhere, waiting, blocking traffic and slowing other cars passing through.
Overcoming this deeply ingrained Malaysian malaise will improve the security situation at airports significantly more than barring non-passengers from airports. But airports should start prioritising the experience of passengers rather than shoppers.