A corporate leader with diverse experience, he is harnessing the latest technological advances to spur Malaysia Airports to greater heights as a smart aviation regional hub.
This month, Dato’ Mohd Shukrie Mohd Salleh is joyous that KL International Airport (KLIA) has improved its ranking to be the world’s ninth best airport for the first quarter of 2021 in the Airports Council International’s (ACI) global Airport Service Quality survey for the over 40 million passengers per annum (mppa) category. He also shares the latest developments at the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, popularly known as Subang Airport. They include plans to grow it as a Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul (MRO) hub for Asia Pacific.
I am happy that KLIA has moved up a notch in terms of service quality from its 10th placing last year to achieve a 4.99 score over 5.00 in ACI’s latest global ASQ survey covering the first three months of 2021. The group’s efforts to improve service levels also saw Langkawi International Airport (LIA) being named the world’s third best airport in the 2-5 mppa category, scoring 4.97 over 5.00 in ACI’s ASQ survey for the same period.
ASQ benchmarks the world’s best airports in terms of overall passenger satisfaction for terminal safety, facilities, services, and cleanliness. The encouraging results at both KLIA and LIA in upholding exceptional services and safety measures in the new travel norm will certainly help restore passenger confidence. LIA has been inducted into ACI Director General’s Roll of Excellence based on its track record for winning multiple ASQ awards over a five- year period over the last decade.
Meanwhile, at Subang Airport, we are refurbishing the car parks at its terminal as well as the MRO and the Helicopter Centre to make them not only bigger and brighter but also safer for the public and the airport community. Besides adding another 200 car park bays to its existing 800 bays, we are also improving the lighting with heavy duty spotlights and enhancing the directional signages for easy navigation.
Additionally, we will be installing the latest technology for video surveillance cameras to ensure the continued safety of users at the airport. Expected to be completed by the third quarter of this year, these initiatives are part of our five-year Subang Airport Regeneration plan to support both our aviation and aerospace sectors.
In growing its MRO component under the Subang Airport Regeneration plan, we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Danish Company Skyways Technics Group, which will enable us to expand the airport as a regional hub offering full-fledged end-to-end MRO facilities such as a line and base air frame MRO hangar, component repair workshops, parts distribution centre and aircraft on ground services.
Currently a tenant at Subang Airport’s MRO Centre, Skyways Technics’ plans to grow its presence in Asia Pacific and expand its services which are aligned with Subang Airport Regeneration strategy to position the airport as a regional hub for turboprops and meeting the demands for ATR maintenance. We envisage the tremendous opportunities in terms of domestic and overseas investments arising from this strategic tie-up with MRO activities in this region set to grow by 150% over the next 10 years totalling US$21.7 billion.