A small fire and heavy smoke disrupted service at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport Air Traffic Control Service for some three hours which affected 19 flights.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said after initial investigation revealed that the incident forced Air Traffic Control Centre (ATC) personnel to evacuate and leave their working positions in adherence to safety procedure.
“The smoke was from the Telekom Malaysia equipment and battery room that was located at 1st floor of the Air Traffic Control centre (ATC) which was about 1.5km from the tower,” Kong said in a press statement Sunday. However, the fire and rescue team arrived shortly to put off the fire.
According to Kong service at the airport was restored and 19 flights were affected during the ATC closure.
Malaysia Airlines Director of Operations, Captain Azharuddin Osman said flights to and from Kota Kinabalu were disrupted due to temporary closure of the airport Sunday morning.
“We rescheduled flights because of temporary closure of the airport which was out of our control.
Other flights to and from other destinations were expected to be slightly delayed as well due to the disruption of the ATC at Kota Kinabalu Airport.
“We are working closely with the airport and all relevant civil aviation authorities to minimise any inconveniences,” Azharuddin said.
Passengers were advised to check their flight status to and from Kota Kinabalu at malaysiaairlines.com or call MAS Call Centre at 1-300-88-3000 within Malaysia or +603-78433000 outside Malaysia.
“Passengers can also check their flight status on their mobile phone by visiting flymas.mobi.” he said.
