KLIA Management reaffirms the new low cost terminal will open on May 2

KUALA LUMPUR - The new low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT), klia2, is safe for use as the cracks on the runway have been rectified, said Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB). MAHB senior general manager (operations services) Datuk Azmi Murad told Malaysian national news agency Bernama that the issue would not affect the overall operations of the terminal which will open on May 2. He said also said the cracks found on the runway was normal and not structural cracks, and a normal engineering process was adequate to settle the problem.

Azmi said that Malindo Air had undertaken a landing trial at klia2 in October last year to prove that the runway is in good condition. klia2 is now able to accommodate a load of up to 100 tonnes, more than the weight of a Superjumbo A380 – the world's biggest commercial aircraft.

However, Azmi stressed that MAHB would take immediate action such as reconstruction works if there were structural cracks. For normal cracks, rectification was done and would be undertaken, he said in an interview at klia2 today.

He was commenting on reports that highlighted the cracks found in klia2, which were accompanied with photographs, and also budget carrier AirAsia's refusal to move to klia2 on May 2.

On Wednesday, Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi announced that the LCCT in Sepang will be closed on May 9. Commenting on the photographs showing the cracks on the runway, Azmi said the photograph was an old one and "now there's no more cracks."

He also gave the guarantee that the safety of the runway, apron, taxiway, and others, have all been certified by the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA). Earlier, he said the DCA had carried out inspection at the klia2 and the department will make a final inspection on April 10.

"The DCA is the right authority to certify the runway, and not the airline," he said, adding that the klia2 had also received the approval from independent consultant appointed by the government, Ikram Premier Consulting.

"The current LCCT also has cracks. I want to close the LCCT because they said the cracks are dangerous for aircraft, so now I want to transfer them here (klia2)," he said.

On the cracks found at the terminal building, he said they were classified as defects liability and a report had been made to the contractor. "It's a minor construction defect," he said.

Newspaper “the Malaysian Insider” reported last Wednesday that new cracks were found on the klia2 apron and building, which have cast doubts on the RM4 billion budget airport terminal's safety, weeks before it is due to begin operations.

Sourced: TravelDailyNews