AirAsia and Malaysia Airports spar over Kota Kinabalu terminals

AirAsia and Malaysia Airports have again engaged in a war of words over the carrier’s forced move to Terminal 1 at Kota Kinabalu International airport (KKIA) in 2015. On Monday Malaysia Airports attributed a 9.4% increase in international tourist arrivals to the state of Sabah last year to the consolidation of airlines at Kota Kinabalu International airport's terminal 1 in December 2015. The operator adds that the move in December 2015 "facilitated growth" for AirAsia, which was originally based at KKIA's terminal 2, as growth through the airport hovered "between 2 to 3% in 2014/15... and jumped to 5% in 2016, 11% in 2017 and 15% for the first half of 2018". AirAsia Malaysia CE Riad Asmat hit back at the airport operator, stating on 25 July that the lower growth in 2014/15 corresponded with a drop in Chinese arrivals due to kidnappings in Sabah, "and has nothing to do with T2". The carrier has instead called on Malaysia Airports to allow it move back to T2, which would facilitate further network expansion into China, South Korea, Japan and India. Allowing it to operate from the facility would enable its Kota Kinabalu base to grow from eight aircraft to 45 over the next decade.<br/>