KKIA Flight Operations Disrupted By Temporary Runway Closure

KOTA KINABALU, Sept 17 (Bernama) -- Several flights at Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) were delayed, cancelled or diverted this evening following the temporary closure of its runway for rectification works.

Checks by Bernama at about 5.40 pm found several arriving flights from Tawau, Johor Bahru, Kuala Lumpur and Guangzhou listed as delayed on the airport's flight information display.

At least two arriving flights from Lahad Datu and Labuan were also listed as cancelled on the display at the time.

KKIA Head of Operations Hassim Duman said the runway was initially scheduled to close for two hours from 2.45 pm today to facilitate rectification works.

However, a Sabah Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) source said a new Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) was subsequently issued, extending the runway closure from 5 pm to 8 pm today.

Malaysia Airports, in a statement on its official Facebook page, said the runway would reopen once the necessary safety inspections and clearing works had been completed.

An airline source said several arriving flights had been diverted to Labuan and Sandakan following the runway closure.

Meanwhile, passenger Mohd Rasedi Che Mamat, 67, said his flight to Sandakan, scheduled for 12.20 pm after a medical check-up at Queen Elizabeth Hospital II, remained delayed into the evening.

“I am really worried. Sitting for such a long time is very difficult for me, and my backside is really hurting. If the delay continues until tomorrow, I do not know how I will manage to sit here. I will have to discuss it with my daughter first,” he told Bernama.

Rasedi said he had travelled to Kota Kinabalu for a heart-related medical check-up and opted to fly back to Sandakan as travelling by road would be difficult given his condition.

Another passenger, Mohd Firman Syah Zainal, 32, who came from Sipitang which is 145 kilometres from here, said his flight to Kuala Lumpur, originally scheduled for 6 pm, had been delayed to 8.45 pm and he was worried it could be further delayed or cancelled.

“I am worried. My hometown is far away. It takes three hours to get there from here. I have to report for work in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow, so I am really worried if the flight is cancelled or delayed until tomorrow,” he said.

-- BERNAMA