KUCHING: Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing has come to the defence of AirAsia following the airing of a video on social media which called the airline’s practices into question.
The video stemmed from a turn back by a flight from Guangzhou to Kuala Lumpur on May 1.
Tiong said it was understandable that the passengers in flight AK117 had been uneasy over the airline’s response to the turn back.
“Passengers who are aggrieved by their flight experience are free to submit their complaints and feedback to the relevant agencies.
“I also take my duty seriously in bringing up matters and areas which can be improved by the airlines.
“However, we cannot agree with persons that make slanderous and malicious comments without basis on aviation and flight safety, which is tantamount to fear mongering and bringing uncalled for disrepute to the airline involved,” he said in a Facebook post.
In terms of flight safety and crisis response, Tiong pointed out that all procedures governing the flight’s landing and takeoff followed a set of professional, rigorous approval processes, which also involved the Civil Aviation Administration of China’s (CAAC) strict control and supervision.
“If the aircraft had not complied with safety rules and procedures for takeoff and landing, the CAAC would not have allowed it to leave Guangzhou.
“Therefore, runaway public opinion will only cause public panic and erode confidence in air travel,” he said.
He added that aviation safety and flight processes involve many professional technical units working in tandem, employing complex operating systems, all to ensure that safety is not compromised.
“Needless to say, it is also futile to compare safety technical considerations between personal road vehicles and large passenger aircraft.
“If there is a safety hazard with a personal vehicle, the owner may choose to accept this risk and continue driving the car.
“But aircraft that do not meet safe conditions for flight will absolutely not be allowed to fly by the local civil aviation authority,” he said.
AirAsia Malaysia chief executive officer Riad Asmat had on May 4 said the flight had to turn back because of technical issues, pointing out that it was not an emergency situation and that no depressurisation had occurred.
