Travelers told to ‘arrive four hours early’ to KL airport after series of tech failures

Kuala Lumpur International Airport was struck by a series of disruptions late last night, and early this morning, that are still being resolved well in to the afternoon.

Twenty departing flights were delayed, according to operator Malaysian Airports Holding Berhad, when passenger facing systems including check-in kiosks were rendered inoperable through a technical failure. Other affected areas included the flight information display, baggage handling systems, and Wi-Fi connections.

UPDATE: Meanwhile, at KLIA Main Terminal, as at 10.30am, there are 20 flights delayed. They are: pic.twitter.com/gvcIzmmEO9

— Malaysia Airports (@MY_Airports) August 22, 2019

According to a tweet issued by the airport, flights bound for Narita, Japan; Perth, Sydney and Melbourne, Australia; Jakarta, Indonesia; London, United Kingdom; and Hong Kong were all experiencing delays.

Critical information, such as departing flights displays were restored first, with MAHB telling travelers to check their social media feed for developing information. Travelers were told to arrive at the airport four hours before their flight time to ensure they boarded their respective planes. Those flying were asked to check in online or via their airline apps, if possible.

As of this afternoon, credit card terminals for retail and food outlets in KLIA were restored. Travelers had to use cash after the tech crash occurred.

Members of the public eager to get on their way were annoyed at the inconvenience:

Some check in/bag drop at KLIA @MAS appears to be reopening, but lines are still huge. Muffled announcements full of words but no actual information. pic.twitter.com/agxyoNtMWr

— Pip Wells (@pipwells) August 22, 2019

Meanwhile, Air Asia boss Tony Fernandes is more concerned about the “poor KLIA2 design” leaving travelers waiting in snaking queues just to go through Immigration. Yes, but not today, Tony.

https://twitter.com/tonyfernandes/status/1164363869436821505

MAHB issued an apology, and assured travelers that they were working with their tech teams behind the scenes, and over 500 ground staff to keep things moving.