Wee says MAS hit by confidence turbulence, govt must pilot it to safety

Wee says MAS hit by confidence turbulence, govt must pilot it to safety

Published: Aug 23, 2024 4:00 PM


Malaysia Airlines (MAS) appears to be suffering from a confidence crisis due to a spate of incidents involving its aircraft, said MCA president Wee Ka Siong.

If this continues, the former transport minister warned, it would damage the country’s reputation and potentially lead to losses for Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG).

“Due to the frequent incidents of emergency landings and technical issues involving MAS, the public is questioning, ‘What has happened to MAS? Is it safe to fly with MAS?’” he said in a Facebook post.

Wee urged the government and Transport Ministry to immediately investigate and assist MAS to eliminate or prevent similar incidents from happening again.

In his post, the former minister also listed the incidents involving MAS flights since the beginning of 2023, which were:

• Jan 9, 2023 - A MAS Airbus A330 experienced a significant fuel system issue during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne, resulting in an emergency landing in Melbourne. The aircraft landed safely and no injuries were reported.

• April 3, 2023 - A MAS flight was forced to return to Kuala Lumpur shortly after takeoff due to technical issues with the aircraft. This incident drew attention due to its erratic flight path, which was noted by both passengers and air traffic controllers.

• July 10, 2023 - A MAS flight bound for Kuching had to abort takeoff at the KLIA after experiencing technical issues. The flight was delayed but all passengers were safe.

• Sept 14, 2023 - A MAS Boeing 737-800 encountered a runway excursion during takeoff at the Melbourne Airport. The aircraft continued its flight after the issue was resolved. This incident occurred just days after a similar runway excursion by a different airline at the same airport, prompting an investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

• June 20, 2024: A flight bound for Kuala Lumpur made an emergency landing at the Hyderabad Airport in India due to an engine problem. The flight had over 100 passengers on board and all landed safely.

• June 24, 2024: Flight MH780 from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok was forced to return to KLIA due to pressurisation issues. The aircraft made an emergency descent but landed safely.

• Aug 16, 2024: A flight from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur had to make an emergency landing in Alice Springs due to engine trouble.

“The latest incident happened two days ago on Aug 21 when MH386 bound for Shanghai from Kuala Lumpur was forced to return to KLIA after experiencing a cabin pressure problem,” Wee said.


‘Abandoned’ by crew

Earlier, The Star reported that these issues have angered passengers and raised calls for clear contingency and emergency plans to be put in place.

Among them was British passenger Dr Edward Harcourt, who was on flight MH001 that departed London’s Heathrow Airport on Aug 4 carrying 280 passengers and 16 crew members.

The flight had to be diverted to Doha due to a technical issue while cruising.

Harcourt said three hours into the flight, an announcement was made that the aircraft would be making an unscheduled stop because the weather navigation system was malfunctioning.

“We were abandoned by the flight crew in the middle of the night and local (Qatari) staff members had no idea what to do with us,” he said.