104 stranded at KLIA arrived in unscheduled flight - minister

Over a hundred passengers reportedly stranded for almost eight hours at the airport due to lack of quarantine facilities had arrived on an “unscheduled flight”.

As such, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said authorities at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) had to scramble to arrange for quarantine facilities, leading to the lengthy delay.

“Yesterday, a group of individuals were stranded at KLIA as they were not sent to the quarantine station within the stipulated duration.

“Upon checking, (it was found) that of the 13 flights landing in KLIA, one was not scheduled to land at KLIA and was bringing 104 passengers.

“The dispatch of the individuals to the quarantine stations were temporarily disrupted in order to wait for the hotels to be prepared to receive such a large number of individuals,” the defence minister said in a press statement today.

He claimed management also “worked fast” to send the stranded passengers to available hotels in small groups and ensure light meals and drinks were available throughout the process.

“The final group was placed at the quarantine station at 10pm,” he said, adding that the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) will work to improve the process further with the state civil defence force acting as state-level secretariat.

Earlier today, Sin Chew Daily reported that many passengers were stuck at KLIA for hours yesterday due to inadequate quarantine centres.

Tan, a Malaysian permanent resident who arrived at the airport at 1pm, was told to wait at the airport as the quarantine centre was packed.

She, however, had claimed that passengers from other flights also faced a similar situation.

Those returning from abroad were initially permitted to serve out the two-week mandatory quarantine at home.

However, following an uptick in Covid-19 cases in the country due to non-compliance with the standard operating procedures and home quarantine order, the government reinstated the compulsory quarantine at designated centres - comprising converted hotels and training centres from July 24.

Yesterday, the minister said foreigners who are allowed to enter Malaysia must pay their quarantine charges and Covid-19 testing fees upon arrival or they can stay in the airport.

This as he claimed there were cases of those refusing to pay for the costs upon completing the quarantine. - Mkini