Business as usual for Sabah airports despite fears
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah airports remain operational, although some airlines retimed or cancelled some flights into the state amid fears of volcanic ash from Mount Ruang spreading towards the state again.

Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) and Tawau Airport officials said operations continued despite delays, rescheduling and cancellations by some airlines for flights in and out of their respective airports yesterday.

Since late Tuesday evening, at least six flights between Kuala Lumpur and Tawau were cancelled or retimed by Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and AirAsia but were reinstated yesterday.The retiming and cancellation of the flights put many passengers in a fix as many had waited out Tuesday night at the Tawau Airport before getting on the reinstated flights from late morning yesterday.

“Things are getting better. There were passengers with changes in their flight times.

“The airlines are trying to facilitate them with further assistance,” Tawau Airport manager Yakub Abu Bakar said when contacted.

Yesterday, two Kuala Lumpur-Sandakan return flights by MAS were cancelled.

When contacted, KKIA senior manager Jefry Ramli said that so far, there are no general disruptions to flights in and out of the international airport.

“Our operations are fine. Sarawak seems to be affected,” he said.

Flights to and from KKIA to various major airports in Sarawak were affected by cancellations.The volcano, located in North Sulawesi, erupted thrice on Tuesday, spewing lava and ashes up to 5km. Two weeks ago, the volcanic activity there had disrupted flights in and out of Sabah and Sarawak.
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KOTA KINABALU: Sabah airports remain operational, although some airlines retimed or cancelled some flights into the state amid fears of volcanic ash from Mount Ruang spreading towards the state again.