"We understand there are restrictions on both parties, on our end and also the airport. But whether they (MAHB) are responding fast enough, I think it can be better,” MAG's incoming president and group chief executive officer Captain Nasaruddin A Bakar said during a media briefing on Monday.”
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 15): Malaysia Aviation Group Bhd (MAG), the parent company of national carrier Malaysia Airlines Bhd, said Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) could respond more effectively to operational issues at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), as the airline group flagged persistent issues affecting baggage handling, congestion and repeated disruptions to the newly resumed aerotrain service.
“We understand there are restrictions on both parties, on our end and also the airport. But whether they (MAHB) are responding fast enough, I think it can be better,” MAG's incoming president and group chief executive officer Captain Nasaruddin A Bakar said during a media briefing on Monday.
Nasaruddin will take over the helm at MAG when group managing director Datuk Captain Izham Ismail retires at the end of January next year.
Nasaruddin said the group’s mishandled baggage rate at KLIA remains above its internal target of 3.5 per 1,000 passengers, which he attributed partly to the condition of the airport’s baggage handling system.
As at November 2025, MAG’s mishandled baggage rate stands at 5.45 per 1,000 passengers.
"One of the main reasons is the condition of the baggage handling system at KLIA. Today, we are seeing approximately 800 [pieces of] luggage weekly being mishandled. So that has impacted our performance with regards to mishandled baggage, and it is impacting our brand as well," he said.
Group chief strategy officer Bryan Foong Chee Yeong said MAG has communicated its growth requirements and expectations to MAHB but acknowledged that progress has been slower than the airline would like.
“We’ve made our requirements and wishlist known to MAHB and they are working through it, and we obviously, as with any airline, are a little bit impatient,” he said.
Foong said both MAG and MAHB share the same long-term objective of increasing traffic and connectivity, but current operational constraints are undermining the customer experience.
“The challenge today is we are seeing a couple of operational issues, the aerotrain being one of them, and the baggage handling system, that are impacting our customers,” he said, adding that congestion remains an issue at certain times of the day.
He added that MAG is open to working with MAHB to resolve near-term operational constraints while also engaging in longer-term capacity planning for KLIA over the next five years, including options such as terminal expansion or new airport infrastructure.
MAHB has been under attack after its KLIA aerotrain service suffered four disruptions in its four months of operations since resuming service on July 1. Service was suspended for more than two years from March 2023 as new aerotrains were commissioned.
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