Teamwork brought about that ‘insane efficiency’, says MAHB

Returning Malaysians going through KLIA last week before being put in quarantine. (Pics by Shacind Ananthan)

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s airport operator has credited the teamwork between government agencies and authorities for the efficiency praised by a Malaysian returning from overseas amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mohd Arif Jaafar of Malaysia Airports Sepang said he was touched by the praise received for the handling of returning Malaysians, who must pass through the airport on their way to spending 14 days in quarantine.

Last week, UK-based student Shacind Ananthan detailed the “insane efficiency” of the government’s handling of returning Malaysians in a widely-praised and much-shared Facebook posting.

Arif said this could not have been possible without the cooperation and dedication of various government agencies and authorities.

He said officials of Malaysia Airports, the health ministry, immigration department, customs, and the airlines had formed a committee in January to map out strategies for dealing with the outbreak of Covid-19, then beginning in China.

“We would discuss the global Covid-19 status and anticipate measures and actions which we would need to take,” he said.

Malaysia Airports handles operations of KLIA in Sepang, which goes by the aviation code KUL. The airport comprises the main KLIA terminal and the klia2 terminal for budget airlines.

Arif said the airport was already functioning like clockwork before the movement control order (MCO) came into effect on March 18.

“The airlines operating committee gave tremendous support in disseminating decisions about Covid-19 to all foreign airlines,” he added.

He said the outbreak committee had also exchanged research materials, lessons learned and best practices with other airports around the world.

Once the MCO was announced, Arif said it was easy for the airport community to work with the National Disaster Management Agency to ensure that all procedures are followed and passenger discomfort is reduced to the minimum.

Arif said the Covid-19 pandemic had been a steep learning curve for all parties and frontliners.

“We didn’t have any major challenges because our returning citizens were very cooperative. The main issue is ensuring social distancing: sometimes people forget, especially after a long flight, but thankfully, we have our aviation security officers in the airport assisting with this.” - FMT