KOTA KINABALU: Passengers and airport personnel had to fumble around in the dark after a 10-hour power outage at Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA).
Cynthia Majaham, who came from Kuala Lumpur about 9 p.m. yesterday, said it was the first time she had exited an airport without power.
“I boarded an AirAsia flight, upon disembarking from the plane using the stairs, the steward asked us to turn on our torchlights (mobile phones).
“It was quite a hassle especially if I have hand-carry items as I also need to hold my phone,” she said, adding she also experienced inconvenience when going to the toilet.
Cynthia went on to say that she witnessed passengers sitting in the dark waiting for their flights, and that airport personnel had to make announcements without using the public address system.
The only spots with lighting, she added, were the health declaration, immigration offices, and luggage pickup areas.
Sunif Naiman, senior manager of Malaysia Airports Kota Kinabalu, stated that during the power loss, the management deployed an in-house generator set as well as two more generators brought in from outside.
“(However) aircraft movement was not affected. Both arrivals and departures were still on time.
“All airside facilities such as Aeronautical Ground Lighting (AGL) and Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) were also not affected,” he told the reporter, at 3.19 a.m., the power supply returned to normal.
Sunif went on to say that there were 14 departure flights and 12 arrivals during the 10-hour blackout. The last flight arrived at 12.40 a.m.
