KOTA KINABALU: A mechanical door malfunction has been identified as the reason why passengers were stranded on a skybridge between an aircraft and the Kota Kinabalu International Airport terminal on Wednesday (July 31), says Datuk Christina Liew
“What I was told by the Sabah Tourism Board (STB) chief executive officer Julinus Jimit was that there was a mechanical malfunction at the aircraft that controls the door rather than any fault within the airport’s infrastructure,” she said
Liew then added that the issue was quickly resolved.
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The Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister then added that they have been in contact with Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad officials to get a full report on the matter.
Liew said this after launching the STB Careline Chatbot at the Sabah International Convention Centre on Thursday (Aug 1).
She added that such an incident should not happen in the future, especially since the airport is the main entry point into Sabah.
“This issue must be improved, and these are among the things that we need to improve from time-to-time,” she said.
She said efforts are ongoing to ensure that facilities are upgraded, especially at the airport.
“STB is working very hard, and are (going) all over the world to promote Sabah. It would be unfortunate if we fail to offer better facilities to our tourists. If our facilities are not at par, then it will be very regretful and disappointing,” she said.
Malaysian Tourist Guides Council president Jimmy Leong Wie Kong, who was also among the affected passengers, said they were left stranded in the tight skybridge between the aircraft and airport terminal for about 10 minutes as the glass door was still closed.
He said the door was finally opened when one of the passengers alerted the cabin crew.
Describing it as his first experience after decades of travelling through international airports, Leong called for a more efficient mechanism to ensure prompt action is taken when managing flight arrivals and departures.
