KOTA KINABALU: Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee claims that his Malaysia Airlines flight to Sabah's capital was delayed because of catering issues on Friday (Sept 1).
This was also the first day after the national carrier ended its 26-year partnership with in-flight caterer Brahim's Food Services Sdn Bhd (BFS).
The Sabah Perikatan Nasional chief said he was supposed to have departed from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on the MH2610 flight to Kota Kinabalu at 9.15am.
However, as flight time approached, airline staff announced that the flight would be delayed due to "operational issues that could not be avoided".
As a result of his further inquiries, he said he was told that the operational issues were actually problems with catering.
"I was also informed that this did not only occur to MH2610 but also several other flights," said the Beluran MP in a Facebook post on Friday adding that the delay lasted almost 100 minutes.
"Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) should be more prepared with its new self-catering operation without affecting and burdening passengers," Kiandee added.
He also said MAB appeared to be unprepared for self-catering despite knowing that the contract would end nearly three months ago.
Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), the parent company of Malaysia Airlines, in a statement on Wednesday (Aug 30) said that it would start serving in-flight meals on certain routes from Sept 1 after the end of its contract with BFS on Aug 31.
During the transition, MAG said Malaysia Airlines, under its business continuity plan (BCP), would serve impacted routes with alternative in-flight food and beverages to ensure seamless operations whilst minimising any potential impact on customer comfort and experience.
MAG said they had planned for self-catering operations involving the sourcing of pre-packed meals, food and beverage from various suppliers.
Kiandee questioned why Malaysia Airlines implemented the self-catering policy if it was not ready.
"The government and Transport Ministry must pay serious attention to what happened today – you are equally responsible for the mess," he said.
