KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Cabinet is awaiting a full report from Malaysia Airports Berhad (MAB) on Thursday’s runway blackout at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) that forced the cancellation of flights and left thousands of passengers stranded.
In calling for the report, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said MAB should also outline measures to be taken to ensure that the blackout did not happen again.
“This incident should not have happened and the problem should not have taken so long to fix.
It has inconvenienced thousands of travellers and may have possibly affected Sabah’s image as a tourist destination,” Musa, who is also State Security Committee chairman, said in a statement.
The MAB was quoted as saying on Saturday that the KKIA runway lights blackout resulted in diversion, delay and cancellation of 51 flights on two nights, affecting a total of 6,000 passengers.
However, it was declared safe for commercial night flight operations at 9.30pm on Friday, following the installation of new cables and runway lighting coupled with the provision of a back-up runway circuit.
On Saturday, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha called for an investigation into the runway blackout.
He was quoted as saying that no one would be spared in the probe and warned of stern action against the “careless party”, whether they were individuals, the local authorities or the airport operator.
Kong said he was extremely upset with the whole situation that had caused a lot of uneasiness and anger among passengers who had planned their long weekend to celebrate Aidiladha with their families and loved ones. — Bernama