KLIA2 is still sinking, warns AirAsia CEO

Kuala Lumpur

KUALA Lumpur International Airport's new budget passenger terminal is still sinking, with cracks appearing in the taxiway and water forming pools that planes must drive through.

The defects could cause flight delays, increase wear and tear on planes and pose potential safety risks, according to AirAsia Bhd, the new terminal's biggest user.

Though take-offs and landings aren't affected, the carrier has asked Malaysian authorities to fix the problems before passengers get hurt, chief executive officer Aireen Omar said in Kuala Lumpur.

"The airport is still sinking," Ms Omar said. The operator, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd, "has done some partial resurfacing, but what the airport actually needs is a permanent solution".

Complaints about the new terminal cap a bad run for Malaysia's aviation industry, after two deadly accidents for the national carrier - the unsolved disappearance of Flight MH370 in March 2014 and the shooting down of another plane over Ukraine last July. Construction expenses for KLIA2, as the new terminal is known, ballooned from an initial estimate of about RM1.7 billion (S$610 million) to RM4 billion.

"Since MH370, a lot of shortcomings have been found" in Malaysia's aviation infrastructure, said Shukor Yusof, founder of Singapore-based consultancy Endau Analytics. "The authorities haven't done enough to address these shortcomings, not enough to put them on par with the First World."

The Transport Ministry has set up an independent audit committee, which will submit a report on ponding issues "in due course", the ministry told Bloomberg. Malaysia Airports, which has used its own funds to rectify the situation, "will be responsible for the findings and proposed solutions", the ministry said. BLOOMBERG