Fernades making a point at the press conference yesterday.
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah can be the “Dubai” of the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Phillipines – East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), if Tan Sri Tony Fernandes gets to fulfill his plans.
With a plan to expand the low cost carrier AirAsia operations, and bringing in AirAsia X, and adding more aircraft here, the budget airline’s chief executive officer (CEO) hopes to develop the Terminal Two Airport, which he believes will also boost the tourism sector in the state.
“When we first started, we brought some 20,000 passengers to Sabah. That was 12 years ago. Today, we are thinking of bringing in 13 million passengers in the next five years, so we need to find a solution to the terminal issue. There are two options – one we develop Terminal Two (which currently operates as the low cost carrier terminal) or build a new terminal. We do not want to go to the Kota Kinabalu Inyernational Airport Terminal One because it will be overcrowded and passengers have to pay RM65 for the airport tax.
“Why do Sabahans or tourists need to pay more when our main objective is to offer them cheap fares so travelling is affordable. To me, personnaly, just because it (Terminal Two) is an old building, why tear it down when you can do renovation … so my preferences would be the Terminal Two,” he said.
Fernandes, who is on a day’s working visit to Sabah, said that he had met up with Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman, and the state’s premier leader seemed “positive” on the matter.
“He (Musa) has been very supportive of our operations in Sabah, right from the very beginning, and we are forever grateful with the
RM1 million loan he offered us to start off the business. Today, we believe he had played a great role throughout AirAsia’s operations in Sabah.
“However, we can only make plans but it is up to the authorities here to decide, and we hope to hear from them soon,” he said, adding that the north wing side of the airport would be a suitable location for the Terminal Two expansion project.
Touching on AirAsia X, Fernandes said it would be the final piece of Sabah’s adventure, with the hope to make the state capital as the centre between North Asia and Australia, a hub for most locations in Indonesia, and flying to other parts of the world such as Melbourne, Tokyo or Shanghai and Beijing.
“This will turn Kota Kinabalu the Dubai for BIMP-EAGA, where everyone can fly to any part of the BIMP-EAGA area with AirAsia or AirAsia X.
“We want to make Sabah stand out and we want to make it finacially attractive. I came across a couple from China at the hotel lift. When I asked them why they came to Sabah, they told me because it was cheap.When they go back, they will tell their friends and come back here. This is what we want to offer potential tourists, and make Sabah as the best destination,” he said.