by AFIQ AZIZ/ pic by TMR FILE

TRAVELLERS who are flying through Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and KLIA2 are advised to pre-sent themselves as early as four hours before departing in the coming two weekends that coincide with national public holidays.

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) said in a statement, the upcoming Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s birthday on Sept 9 and Malaysia Day on Sept 16 — both falls on Monday — would spur holidaymakers to make a beeline to KLIA and KLIA2.

MAHB said the terminals are expected to serve an average of 160,000 passengers daily, higher than during the normal period.

“As such, we would like to advise all passengers travelling through KLIA (including KLIA2) to check-in online earlier through the airlines’ websites and be at the airport four hours prior to departure in order to be at the boarding gate on time.”

The airport operator also recommends its passengers to use the available automated processes whenever possible such as web check-in and self-baggage drop.

KLIA was struck by network outages last Wednesday which caused thousands of passengers on various flights delayed.

MAHB had provided an extra 1,000 volunteer staff to ensure passengers’ seamless journey.

“Our 1,000 strong volunteer staff that has been put in place since the start of the network failure will remain in force throughout this super peak travel period,” the airport operator said.

As investigations are ongoing under Section 427 of the Penal Code for causing damage through an act of mischief, the Transport Ministry is also expected to form an investigation committee on the KLIA Total Airport Management System system failure.

The committee has one month to pre-sent a comprehensive report on the root cause of the technical malfunction, as well as make the necessary recommendations to avoid future reoccurrences.

Meanwhile, MAHB also advises passengers to keep track of their flight schedules, as airport runways are expected to be closed between 9am to 10.30am on Aug 27-31, 2019, to make way for the National Day rehearsals and celebration.

“Around 85 flights are expected to be affected due to the airspace closure and passengers should check on the latest flight schedules from their respective airlines.”

The company assures that all the terminal facilities will be well-maintained to guarantee passengers seamless from check in to boarding.