AirAsia against Moving to Kota Kinabalu Terminal 1

29th Jul 2015

Malaysian airline AirAsia revealed earlier today that it does not plan to move its operations to Kota Kinabalu’s Terminal 1, and that it will stay at Terminal 2.

Chief executive officer at AirAsia Aireen Omar had the following to say about this:

We are not moving and have made a firm decision to stay in Terminal 2. We have made an appeal to the Transport Ministry explaining the limitations if we have to move to Terminal 1.

Malaysia Airports Holding Bhd has to Resolve Certain Issues AirAsia Stressed

Aireen also said that MAB (Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad) still has to prepare facilities that would allow AirAsia to move to Terminal 1. She said MAB has to solve certain problems that the carrier has pointed out.

MAB, Aireen explained, also has to do more to assist AirAsia, as the carrier has brought in a so many tourists and provided low cost fares for Sabahans.

Moving to Terminal 1 Would Mean Higher Costs for Budget Passengers, Says Aireen Omar

According to Aireen, moving to Kota Kinabalu Terminal 1 would mean higher costs for budget travelers. This, Aireen said, would be a major setback to the company’s goal of making the airport its second hub after KLIA2.

Aireen continued by saying:

More than 50 per cent of passenger traffic to Kota Kinabalu is brought in by AirAsia. We have plans for the next five to ten years.

 Still, AirAsia’s CEO said the carrier is ready to meet with the state government and work with them in developing Kota Kinabalu airport’s Terminal 2 as a major hub for budget carriers.

Regarding this, she said:

They have not addressed the issues we brought up. We want to be reassured that in the long term, they have the capacity to support our expansion plans.