There are now 3 scanners at KLIA; 2 at the arrival hall and the other at the transit area

By HARIZAH KAMEL / Pic By ARIF KARTONO

TO CONTAIN the spreading of the novel coronavirus, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) has announced an additional thermal scanner at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to effectively screen passengers.

MAHB senior manager terminal services division Abd Hasman Abd Muhimim said the additional scanner was added by the Health Ministry (MoH) for the airport’s transit area.

“We now have three scanners at KLIA; two at the arrival hall while the additional one is at the transfer border, also known as the transit area.

“Before this, we had four thermal scanners, two at KLIA and two at KLIA2. The arrival hall at KLIA is wide which is why we need two, while KLIA2’s arrival hall is narrow, so one is enough,” he said after a media briefing at KLIA yesterday.

Following an increase of coronavirus cases worldwide, MAHB has taken proactive steps to ensure the safety and security of passengers at KLIA and KLIA2 through the disinfection process, so all facilities are safe and clean to use.

“During this time, we include the disinfection process by sanitising our facilities where we chemically clean all the common areas that have been touched by passengers.

“All areas are important especially the focus areas that have been touched by passengers, namely the walkalator and escalator handrails, trolleys, handles, and lift buttons, as well as the counters and tabletops,” said Abd Hasman.

He said the disinfection cleaning process has been carried out since Jan 25 after MAHB received information from the MoH.

Abd Hasman also said they have spent RM16,000 to purchase personal protective equipment and additional chemicals for the process.

“In KLIA, we put 81 bottles of hand sanitisers in public places, so it is easy for people to use, while KLIA2 has 62 bottles. We make sure to refill them every day,” he said.

To improve the confidence of passengers, airport users and airport staff, MAHB makes sure their supervisors and officers oversee the cleaning staff.

There are around 320 cleaning staff in KLIA, while KLIA2 has 280.

For one shift, the staff work on a rotation basis for 12 hours from 7am to 7pm and the next shift starts from 7pm to 7am, said Abd Hasman.

“It’s not so difficult because we have done it before. The only thing that we add is the sanitation process this time. This is something that we learned during the SARS outbreak, so the process is not new to us,” he added.