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Jonathan Fernandez’s handwritten boarding pass. ― Malay Mail
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Passengers returning from Miri on board budget carrier
Malindo Air were left anxious for some time when the check-in computer system
crashed yesterday.
Their anxiety was only temporary as the ground staff issued
handwritten boarding passes to 41 passengers to enable them to catch their
flight.
But this has landed their airline in hot soup, as they could
face action with aviation and transport regulators, following Rayani Air coming
under scrutiny in March.
Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Aziz Kaprawi said the
ministry viewed the system failure seriously and had instructed Malindo Air to
conduct an immediate probe into the matter, not discounting the possibility of
internal sabotage or hacking.
“It is puzzling to the ministry when informed the system
engineers discovered the back-up system had failed to operate when needed.”
Aziz said no action would be taken on the airline for the
technical glitch, but it would have to provide a report to the ministry to
explain the matter, including the poor back-up system.
He confirmed the glitch in the airline’s internal system was
only experienced at Miri Airport.
“Sixty passengers had no check-in problems but the remaining
41 were affected when the system malfunctioned. The immediate action taken was
to issue handwritten boarding passes.”
Aziz said the airline had received clearance from the
Immigration Department and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad on the matter.
Malindo Air chief executive officer Chandran Rama Muthy said
Flight OD1651, from Miri Airport to KL International Airport, was delayed for 10
minutes.
“The (Internet) connection provided by our third-party
vendor was down halfway through check-in,” he said.
Chandran said the airline had standard operating procedures
to overcome such situations.
“All procedures according to Malaysia Airports and Miri
Immigration Department were followed accordingly.
“Our security screenings were tightened and we verified each
passenger’s identification card against our passenger manifest,” he said.
The Internet connection at Miri Airport was up and running as
of 6pm yesterday.
The check-in issue came to light when an affected passenger,
Jonathan Fernandez, 30, uploaded a picture of his boarding pass on Facebook.
“My only concern was not being able to board the flight,” he
said.
In March, Rayani Air came under scrutiny after a photo
uploaded by Kampung Tunku assemblyman Lau Weng San of his allegedly handwritten
boarding pass while he was en route from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching, Sarawak, went
viral.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai had said the
airline would be investigated as he deemed the act to be a potential security
threat.
“It can be a security threat because you can’t read the
handwriting,” Liow was quoted saying.
Malay Mail Online
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