Could the airport be the next big domestic tourism destination?

The AFRS team in charge of the demos and activities.

SEPANG: Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad has unveiled the latest instalment of their Airport Staycation programme, which offers guests a once in a lifetime experience with the Airport Fire & Rescue Services (AFRS) team.

The initiative aims to promote KL International Airport as a destination in and of itself, echoing the government’s ongoing efforts to encourage Malaysians to visit local destinations.

The most recent iteration of the programme featured a collaboration between Sama-Sama Hotel KLIA and the AFRS.

An MAHB spokesman told FMT that the programme so far “has been a bestseller, with fully sold out slots on both sessions; the response is indeed very encouraging with 100% customer satisfaction rate”. MAHB was “already looking at opening more slots in the coming months.”

Children listening attentively to a fire safety demonstration.

At an event hosted by the AFRS at their station, families were treated to an afternoon of demonstrations and activities helmed by the station crew.

Families got the chance to ride in one of the state-of-the-art fire trucks used by the AFRS, but not before witnessing how powerful the vehicle is in the water spray demonstration.

Children were also allowed to put out controlled gas fires with extinguishers, as part of AFRS’ ongoing commitment to educate people about fires.

Guests could also don firefighting gear and get hands-on experience, under crew supervision, with professional tools such as the jaws of life, chainsaws and axes.

Under close supervision, kids were able to get hands-on experience putting out fires.

Hunter Leow, who brought along his children, Archer, 1, and Cassandra, 5, told FMT the experience was a valuable one for them.

“It’s fun for the kids, because with the exposure, they’ll be inspired and well-educated on the importance of the fire rescue team. Since we can’t travel internationally, I think it’s good when the airport offers this sort of option for us because there’s so much more to explore in our own backyard.”

The afternoon ended with a demonstration of the danger of fire in the kitchen, with the firefighters unleashing a two-story fireball with nothing but a gas fire and a bowl of cooking oil.

One of the state-of-the-art firetrucks that took families on a joyride around the station.

The Airport Staycation package also included a two-day and one-night stay at Sama-Sama hotel, a cake decorating workshop for the kids, exclusive 50% discount on food and beverages at the hotel and special access to the “KLIA Crazy Sale at KUL (the international civil aviation code for Kuala Lumpur)”.

MAHB said that if the positive reception continues, they would be happy to continue the programme even after international travel resumes.

“As long as there is still demand for our airport staycation, we will continue to provide unique experiences to guests through various other activities within the airport.

“We will definitely look at the many other possible collaborations that we can have with our business partners, such as the airlines, for future activities to be included.” - FMT