SEPANG: The Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) system disruption since Wednesday night has left passengers frustrated as the check-in processes are conducted manually.
However, the frustration has not boiled over as checks at the airport showed that the situation was relatively calm and under control, thanks to the presence of airport staff who have been patiently assisting the passengers with their queries.
The glitch has affected several airport systems, including the Flight Information Display System (FIDS), check-in-counters, the Baggage Handling Systems (BHS), and WiFi availability, with Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd advising passengers to be at KLIA at least four hours before their flight departure time.
One passenger, 25-year-old Fatin Afiqah Zaimi, said she made the effort to arrive at the airport four hours early as per the advice.
“My flight to Manila was initially supposed to depart at 8am. However, I received an email informing me that the flight had been postponed to 11am.
“I have waited here for five hours but as of now I have yet to receive any updates on the departure time,” said the manager at a private company in Banting.
Fatin Afiqah said she has been following closely the information shared by MAHB on their social media and thought the disruption would be resolved.
“I am frustrated that I need to wait a long time... my holiday with my friend is now affected,” she said.
Aiman Amran, 29, who was waiting for his flight to Bandung with 20 of his family members, said his flight, which had initially scheduled for noon, had been postponed twice.
“I arrived at the airport at 8am and was told the flight has been postponed to 3pm. Then I was informed again that the flight has been pushed to 4pm.
“For sure the delays will affect my plan in Bandung. According to the itinerary, we will visit several places after we touch down, but now everything needs to be rearranged. This has ruined my holiday mood,” he said.
Meanwhile, klia2 saw less flight delays as the check in counters, immigration and baggage handling systems were up and running as of 7am. However, the FIDS still faced intermittent disruptions.
However, 19-year-old Nur Ammira Farhana Darus Shah, whose flight to Sabah was delayed, said she had prepared herself to face delays.
“My flight is at 5.20pm and has been postponed to 7.25pm, it’s a two-hour delay. But we were all aware of the possibility so we had prepared earlier... hopefully it won’t be rescheduled again.
“Our trip is not affected as our plan was to rest after arriving in Sabah. All activities will only start tomorrow,” she said when met at the klia2 departure hall.
Xiamen University student, Alias Khoo, 18, and teacher, Tan Poh Lee, 52, both said their flights were not affected.
Tan said this was a benchmarking trip for her along with 33 other teachers.
“We are heading to Bandung. So far, the flight will depart as scheduled... I wasn’t informed by our tour guide about any delay. I assume no news means good news,” she said.