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 jubilant as KL International Airport (KLIA) and Langkawi International Airport (LIA) are recognised globally for their exceptionally high service standards and facilities despite the challenges which emerged from the new normal requirements in airport operations as the airport operator combats against the on-going novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. More international airlines are also returning to Malaysia.
It is a proud moment for us with KLIA being ranked among the world’s top 10 airports in the latest Airport Service Quality (ASQ) 
survey carried out by the Airports Council International (ACI). Achieving an overall score of 4.94 out of 5.00 from 4.69 previously, KLIA rose to ninth placing for the first half of 2020 from its 17th position in 2019 when benchmarked against airports of similar capacity.
KLIA proudly scored a perfect five for overall satisfaction by both business and leisure passengers, 4.99 for cleanliness of airport terminal and 4.97 for the availability of washrooms. That is undoubtedly a stellar performance and I am happy to announce that the preliminary ASQ results for KLIA’s overall satisfaction score for the third quarter is 4.96 out of 5.00.
We are also honoured by ACI’s recent recognition of LIA as one of the world’s top seven airports. Such recognitions will certainly motivate our airport community and partners to continue giving their best as we navigate together during this unprecedented period.
Silk Air’s resumption of its Singapore – Penang service and plans to increase more flights from December coupled with British Airways (BA), Oman Air and Ethiopian Airlines flying again into Malaysia are another boost for us.
BA is offering four weekly flights from London Heathrow to Kuala Lumpur (KL) on Boeing 787-900. Oman Air’s twice weekly flights from Muscat to KL and Ethiopian Airlines’ once weekly flight from Addis Ababa via Bangkok to KL will soon be joined by many more international airlines, which have submitted their filings.
Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport, also managed by us, recently saw its seventh foreign airline, Kuwait Airways, resuming operations and the low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines starting a new route to Karachi with four weekly flights. According to our latest third quarter data, our total network of airports registered 9.4 million passengers, an improvement from 1.3 million passengers posted in the second quarter.
Although targeted enhanced movement control order plus conditional movement control order imposed in several states and zones in Malaysia have dented domestic traffic, we anticipate demand for air travel to be resilient and have taken the necessary steps to ensure our guests’ safety as we combat the spread of the pandemic.
So far, we have installed 23 new thermal scanners and 600 sneeze guards at 19 airports nationwide. Various contactless and physical distancing solutions at critical checkpoints throughout the terminals have also been implemented. We expect our air traffic recovery in the near-term to be dependent on flexible measures and effective standard operating procedures being meted out by the government and relevant authorities concerned.
Valuing the cooperation from all parties in terms of maintaining safety and security protocols, we hope to see more passengers travelling again soon.