Kuala Lumpur flights delayed as airport battles systems outage

Airport operator Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd advised passengers to reach the airport at least four hours before their flight departure time. PHOTO: ST FILE
Some shops in Kuala Lumpur International Airport have also been affected, with staff saying credit card transactions could not be processed due to poor Internet connectivity. PHOTO: ST FILE

KUALA LUMPUR (BLOOMBERG, THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - As many as 20 flights, including by Emirates and ANA, from Kuala Lumpur International Airport were delayed after check-in and baggage systems were disrupted from Wednesday night (Aug 21).

Both the main and the low-cost KLIA2 terminals were affected by disruptions that brought down the flight information display, check-in counters, baggage handling and Wi-Fi connection, airport operator Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) said in a statement.

"Since the disruption, our team has been working round-the-clock, not only to rectify the situation, but also to minimise the inconvenience caused to passengers," it said.

It tweeted that systems were fully functioning by 10.41am on Thursday, save for the flight information display at KLIA2.

Earlier, AirAsia Group chief executive officer Tony Fernandes shared a video showing a long line of passengers trying to get to and from their flights at the KLIA2 terminal, saying it was the worst that he had ever seen.

AirAsia is in the middle of a dispute with MAHB over passenger service charges.

MAHB didn't give a reason for the systems disruption but said in the statement that personnel have been deployed to assist passengers on the ground.

"We expect the situation to continue throughout Thursday and passengers are advised to reach the airport at least four hours before their flight departure time," MAHB said, also advising passengers to check with their airlines for the latest flight schedules.

It assured that it would be issuing further updates through its social media platforms throughout Thursday.

It also advised passengers to reach out to its Airport Care Ambassadors or call +603-8776 2000 for information on updated flight details.

Meanwhile, checks on the ground showed that the Immigration autogates were working only intermittently, with one Immigration officer saying that the system was down so he was processing documents manually.

Some shops in the airport have also been affected, with staff saying credit card transactions could not be processed due to poor Internet connectivity.

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