KOTA KINABALU: Old faulty electric cables caused a malfunction in the runway lights at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA), leaving hundreds of passengers stranded since Thursday.
Malaysia Airports Berhad (MAB) senior airport manager Kamaruzzaman Razali said the cables were old and had not been replaced by the contractors as the airport was under construction to upgrade its facilities which cost RM1 billion.
“Because of the incident on Thursday, we have replaced the old cables with new ones and the runway is 100 percent in operation day and night.
“We would like to clarify here that MAB did not use any portable lighting system yesterday (Friday) to resume operation because portable lights are only for emergency.
“The runway is back to normal because we have fixed the problem,” he said yesterday.
KKIA was closed on Thursday night after the runway lights malfunctioned for the second time in six months, forcing 40 incoming and outgoing flights to be cancelled or rescheduled.
Daytime flights were able to take off by first daylight on Friday as Malaysia Airlines (MAS), MASwings and AirAsia passengers on international and domestic routes were being put on alternative scheduled flights.
Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) on Friday issued a statement clarifying that electricity supply to KKIA was in stable condition.
Its managing director, Ir Hj Abd Razak Sallim said an investigation carried out after the runway blackout found no faulty electrical installation to KKIA.