MIRI: The congestion at Miri Airport, the country’s fifth busiest airport, has now reached a critical stage which affects domestic and foreign flight schedules.
Sarawak Communication Assistant Minister Datuk Lee Kim Shin said initially the airport was meant to handle a total volume of two million passengers annually but it was currently handling a maximum 2.3 million passengers annually due to the rapid development of Miri city’s tourism as well as oil and gas industries.
“Now we have received a growing number of complaints from passengers of constant long queues, due to stringent security procedure, to the extent some of them expressed their frustration and anger because they missed their flights,” he told a news conference here yesterday.
Earlier Lee chaired an urgent meeting with Malaysia Airport Berhad (MAB) Miri manager Noor Bashah Kasim and representatives from Malaysia Airlines (MAS), AirAsia, police and Immigration Department following such complaints over the congestion.
Apart from affecting the flight schedule, which caused passengers to miss their flights in some cases, Lee said the serious congestion also affected the arrival time of incoming aircraft to Miri airport as these had to wait for the other aircraft to depart before it could land at the runway.
“Miri Airport is not only handling passengers for domestic and foreign flights but is also the hub for rural air services (RAS) and helicopter services for offshore workers,” he said.
As a short term measure, he said, more counters for immigration and police would be opened to ease the long queue, especially during peak season.
He said the federal Transport Ministry was in the midst of expanding Miri Airport in phases, starting with the RM20 million parking apron project being implemented this year that could accommodate bigger aircrafts.
“It is high time for Miri Airport to be upgraded to Miri International Airport to cater for the growing number of passengers,” he said, adding that he had already made the suggestion many times and the ministry should seriously consider it for implementation under 11th Malaysia Plan.
At present, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is the country’s busiest airport followed by Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA), Penang International Airport and Kuching International Airport (KIA). — Bernama