PUTRAJAYA — The Transport Ministry (MOT) has mandated a comprehensive overhaul of baggage-handling protocols and infrastructure at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) following a system breakdown for four hours last Saturday.
As an additional measure, the Managing Director of airport operator Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) has been directed to provide weekly progress updates on the stabilisation of baggage operations, MOT said in a statement today.
The ministry will table a Cabinet Note regarding the disruption on April 22, it added.
“At the same time, the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) is currently undertaking an investigation into this matter and will work with MAHB to ensure full operational stabilisation and compliance with all applicable safety and service standards,” the statement said, Bernama reports.
The statement was issued following an emergency meeting today ordered by Transport Minister Anthony Loke to evaluate Saturday’s disruption to KLIA’s baggage handling system (BHS) at Terminal 1.
Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Jana Santhiran Muniayan, who chaired the meeting, said the ministry will focus on improving standard operating procedures (SOPs).
“The ministry takes this incident very seriously, as it caused baggage delays of up to four hours for passengers. Although the system was restored on the same night, the matter does not end without comprehensive and effective follow-up action.
“The meeting focused on improving SOPs, particularly in terms of response time, communication with passengers, and contingency planning to strengthen preparedness for any disruption,” Jana Santhiran said in a Facebook post.
The meeting was also attended by senior management from the ministry, MAHB, the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM), the MOT Aviation Division, as well as representatives from airlines and ground handlers.
In its statement, MOT confirmed that the BHS’ breakdown was due to a power supply issue at the Bukit Raja substation.
The root cause was a trip to a a 132kV Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS) reserve at the substation at 4.54 pm on April 18. This resulted in a voltage dip that affected KLIA operations.
“This disturbance caused a failure in the BHS controller, leading to a major system shutdown affecting both departure and arrival baggage processing,” MOT said.
Immediate- and long-term mitigation measures are being implemented to prevent recurrence and strengthen system resilience, it added.
MOT said that although the BHS system was supported by Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) units, six units were affected, exposing vulnerabilities in the system’s resilience.
“Between 5 pm and 10.30 pm on April 18, the airport processed a total baggage volume of 23,769 pieces. While the majority of operations continued, a total of 1,061 pieces were reported as “shortshipped”, and 120 pieces were identified under arrival handling loss,” it said.
MOT said MAHB and its ground handling partners have since delivered the vast majority of these items, with a small number of bags remaining in the final stages of clearance or collection.
“Notably, flight schedules remained unaffected, with no delays or cancellations reported due to the incident. An internal review identified key challenges in on-ground coordination, response times, and real-time system visibility.
“While the Business Continuity Plan (BCP) was activated, the scale of the disruption exceeded existing scenarios. In immediate response, MAHB and airline partners deployed manual fallback procedures and additional manpower to stabilise passenger flow and minimise further inconvenience,” it said. – April 20, 2026