Dato’ Iskandar Mizal Mahmood returns to Malaysia Airports after almost 20 years with his wealth of experience gleaned from many multinationals and government linked companies to elevate and transform Malaysia Airports in the fast-changing aviation landscape with new travel norms and innovative technological advances.
This month as he roars into the Year of the Water Tiger, he looks forward to the replacement of the automated people mover (APM) or aerotrain system by Pestech Technology Sdn Bhd at the KL International Airport (KLIA), which will offer flexible and seamless connections upon its completion in the near future. The commencement of more new routes by existing carriers and newcomer, SKS Airways, also herald an optimistic start for domestic air travel within Malaysia in this new year.
Envisage the upgrading of the new aerotrains together with our track system infrastructure to serve KLIA with improved operationalefficiency in terms of safety, comfort, appearance, energy consumption and diagnostics upon its completion in three years’ time. Pestech Technology, which has been awarded the contract through a tender exercise, will be starting work on the APM project in March.
It will be working with original equipment manufacturer, Bombardier Transportation, which was recently acquired by Alstom, a French multinational rolling stock maker with global operations in rail transport and actively involved in passenger transportation, among other things. Pestech Technology will also be responsible for maintaining these new aerotrains for 10 years from 2025 until 2034. We will be working closely with Pestech Technology to ensure minimal disruption and inconvenience to our passengers.
I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate SKS Airways, which was awarded a full air service license by the Malaysian Aviation Commission this year, for providing new scheduled flights to our popular islands of Pangkor and Redang in Perak and Terengganu respectively from Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, popularly referred to as Subang Airport in Selangor.
This will be a boost to domestic air travel within Malaysia. Coupled with the reopening of the Kuching-Langkawi route by AirAsia on January 5 which is another fillip for this legendary island and crown jewel of Kedah, we can expect to see the Langkawi travel bubble project gaining traction besides meeting the pent-up demand to travel.
AirAsia is also providing more connectivity between Peninsular Malaysia and the two East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak. Its new routes – Johor Bahru-Bintulu, Penang- Sibu and Kuala Terengganu-Kota Kinabalu – are timely, serving the demand for the festive travel during the Chinese New Year period.
While wishing a safe travel to all passengers, I would like to reiterate that Malaysia Airports will always maintain the required standard operating procedures such as the wearing of masks, social distancing and regular sanitisation at all our airports.
Happy Chinese New Year!