Despite the complaints, most visitors met at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) yesterday have given the thumbs up to the new airport terminal.

 

“It’s huge! The atmosphere is cool I think, with many places to chill out. The signage around the airport are very clear,” said Julien Banka ( right ), who flew in from Paris, waiting for a connecting flight to Bali when met.

 

He said he had no trouble finding his way quickly from the main terminal to KLIA2.

 

Another visitor, Teoh Hee Chean, said KLIA2 is both larger and more comfortable than the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) that it replaced, and especially liked that airport authorities have posted guides all around the airport.

 

The guides wear blue t-shirts and hold large signboards that read “Ask Me!” and be spotted near the arrival and departure halls, around escalators, and places where airport visitors tend to congregate.

 

“I recommend that all these assistants helping around continue their job. It is quite useful,”  said Teoh, 35, a banker.

 

However, the story at the domestic arrival hall was different. Lecturer Zahani Ismail remarked that the  arrival hall lacked sufficient signage, complaining that it took around 15 minutes for him to claim his baggage.

 

“Overall, it is okay,” he added.

  Guides not living up to name

Meanwhile, Joji Ito from Japan found the airport confusing and the airport’s guides were not  much of help for him.

 

“I want to keep my surfboard in the airport, but I can’t find where can I put it. Some stuff are really new, so they are still confused. That’s why we got confused too,” he said.

 

Ito added that his experience with immigration checks, customs clearance and baggage claims had been quick, but the vast size of the airport meant much time being spent on walking from one point to another.

 

Compared with the LCCT, he said “The older one was really dirty, but much more convenient. I think (KLIA2) is too big to find everything,” he said.

 

Although KLIA2 had been open since April 30, yesterday was the first time the new low-cost airport terminal has seen significant use as  it was the day that its main user AirAsia shifted  its operations there.

 

It was previously operating from LCCT, which was closed on May 8 night, whereas most other budget airlines had moved to KLIA2 by May 2.

 

The KLIA2 project had been subject of much controversy, ranging from repeated delays, claims of cost overruns from opposition parliamentarians, to claims of safety issues from AirAsia.

  Sounding one’s own trumpet

Airport authorities seemed sensitive to this as well.

Among the signage at the airport touting  its benefits, one proclaimed that “RM2 billion to RM4 billion for a bigger and better KLIA2, not a cost overrun”, and listed some of the changes to the project’s specifications from 2009's original.

 

Other signboards claimed that KLIA2 had been still cheaper to build per square metre than LCCT, while another claimed that it boasts of some of the lowest airport charges among those  equipped with aerobridges.

 

As for AirAsia’s safety concerns, the budget airline agreed to move to KLIA2 after the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) audited the airport, although the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee found that AirAsia’s concerns were not without merit.