Passengers at Penang International Airport departure hall in Bayan Lepas. — Filepic
Number of machines increased, 30 additional Immigration staff stationed at PIA to alleviate congestion, says exco
Eight additional autogates for passport inspection have been added at Penang International Airport (PIA) to alleviate congestion.
State tourism and creative economy committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said the number of autogates had been increased from 12 to 20, while the Immigration Department had also bolstered its workforce at PIA in Bayan Lepas.
Wong said the initiatives were approved by Immigration Department director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh during a special meeting.
“The 20 autogate machines are capable of handling Malaysian passport checks as well as foreign passports from 63 countries.
“The Immigration Department has also added 30 staff at the airport,” he said.
Wong said the number of international tourists entering the state had increased, especially with more direct flights to Penang from cities such as Xiamen and Shanghai in China, Dubai in United Arab Emirates as well as increased flight frequencies from other international locations.
“Between January and May this year, the number of international arrivals at PIA was 742,244 passengers, an increase of 28.19% compared to 579,011 passengers in the same period last year.
“The Immigration counter at the airport has 12 check-in counters and 12 check-out counters to handle foreign nationals and Malaysians who need pasport assistance.
“Malaysian citizens generally use the autogate and face no problems.
“However, when several international flights land simultaneously within a short period of time, Immigration counters face difficulty in dealing with the sudden increase in passenger arrivals. This causes congestion at check-in counters.”
Wong said the state had previously held meetings with industry leaders, with efforts including submitting a proposal to Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail about congestion at PIA.
