The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has found the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) to be safe and that it meets international standards, says Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.

 

He said ICAO had prepared a preliminary technical audit report on April 18 and it had been tabled to the cabinet yesterday.

 

“I think we are on track and it makes me proud to say that what we have promised the public - that KLIA2 will open as scheduled - will happen,” he said at a press conference today after witnessing the handover ceremony of KLIA2’s air traffic control tower, known as Tower West.

 

Previously, budget airline AirAsia refused to move its operations to the new low-cost terminal citing safety concerns, in particular supposed defects on the taxiway, apron and runway.

ICAO consultants were then roped in to audit the safety of the airport since April 14, and AirAsia has since agreed to move its operations to KLIA2.

KLIA2, along with KLIA’s third runway, are scheduled to begin operations on May 2 and the launching ceremony will be held about a month after.

The existing low cost carrier terminal (LCCT), where AirAsia and several budget airlines are currently operating from, will be closed beginning on May 9.

At a height of 133.8 metres, KLIA2’s new air traffic control tower is also currently the world’s tallest air traffic control tower. It will coordinate air traffic at KLIA2 and Runway 3.

As part of the handover ceremony, Hishammuddin also gave clearance for two aircraft to land simultaneously on separate runways under supervision of an air traffic controller – a test flight for the yet-to-be-opened Runway 3, and a commercial flight on Runway 2.

Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) director-general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman ( left in photo ) says this is the first time two aircraft landed at the same time at KLIA, and this will become the norm once KLIA2 opens to increase the airport’s ability to handle more aircraft.

In addition, the opening of the third runway would make KLIA the first airport in the Asean region to have three runways operating at the same time, he said. The first aircraft is slated to land on the morning of May 2.

“In Asia, we would be talking about Shanghai and Beijing. We are one of the first in Asia to have a three-runway system,” he adds.

When asked how he felt when landing the two aircraft and watching one of them touching down on the runway, Hishammuddin says, “I feel good for the first time in many weeks.”

He has been heading the government’s handling of the MH370 crisis, which has been receiving heavy criticism from foreign media as well as the families passengers on aboard the missing flight, most of whom are Chinese nationals.