KLIA A380 upgrade works completed

The upgrading works at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) costing RM116.8 million to accommodate Airbus A380, the biggest commercial airplane to date, has been fully completed.

The upgrading works include runway, taxi shoulder, pavement strength, ground service requirements, a third aerobridge and holding lounge.

KLIA general manager Mohammad Suhaimi Abdul Mubin said that the construction process commenced on April 3, 2006 and was completed on Feb 28, 2007.

"The A380 aircraft requires three anti-collision aerobridges for passengers to enter and exit the plane to or from the gate holding lounge.

"Other aircraft usually require two aerobridges but for the A380 an additional aerobridge has to be allocated for the upper deck passengers," he told reporters at a media walkabout on airport readiness here today.

"Training and aircraft familiarisation programmes for A380 are scheduled to be conducted in June this year to prepare Malaysia Airlines' staff and ground personnel (ground handler), so that they are fully prepared to handle the new aircraft," he added.

The A380 two-deck gate holding lounge, covering 1,600 sq metres, has 12 televisions, nine payphones and six priority seats for the disabled.

The gate holding lounge can accomodate 450 to 480 passengers at any one time with separate areas for arrivals and departures. The A380 is allocated three gates - C17, C27 and C37.

Meanwhile, Malaysia Airlines' executive vice president, Hayati Ali said that the delivery of the airplane was anticipated to be in June 2012, while the inaugural flight to London would commence on July 1, 2012.

The delivery of the other five Airbus A380 was scheduled for July, August, October, December this year, and February 2013. -- Bernama