Another Breakdown At KLIA: How Many More Times Must the Aerotrain Fail?

Just when travellers thought the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Aerotrain was finally back on track, it stalled again on Wednesday night.  This time because of a power disruption.

Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) said both train units at Terminal 1 experienced a temporary power trip around 8.30PM. 

“Passenger recovery procedures were immediately activated, with airport response teams deployed to assist those on board and transfer them to the terminal,” the operator said in a statement.

One Aerotrain was back in service by 9.27PM, while work to fix the second continued. In the meantime, shuttle buses were rolled out to keep passengers moving between the main terminal and the satellite building.

“KLIA is conducting a thorough investigation to determine the root cause of the incident

We regret the inconvenience caused and appreciate the patience and understanding of all passengers as recovery work progresses," MAHB added.

It’s deja vu for frequent flyers. This is already the second power-related disruption in just a few months, coming after a similar issue on September 4. 

The Aerotrain had only recently returned to limited service after months of repair under the airport’s renewal programme and even then, it hasn’t been smooth sailing.

In Parliament, Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Hasbi Habibollah revealed that the Aerotrain has suffered 19 minor glitches since its July relaunch.

“We want to ensure 100% operational efficiency. If they fail to meet this, a penalty of up to RM190,000 per month will be imposed. They must make sure the system is always tip-top,” Hasbi said.

He explained that the train’s manufacturer, Alstom, is responsible for maintaining full performance, 100% when one train runs, 99.5% when both operate.

Recently, Transport Minister Anthony Loke also directed MAHB to re-examine KLIA’s entire electrical infrastructure after an overheating cable caused an outage at Terminal 2. 

“I directed MAHB to review the entire electrical infrastructure so that if anything happens, our operations are not interrupted and electricity will always be supplied,” he said in an August report by NST.

But the question remains. With all these reviews and promises, how much monitoring is really happening? Disruptions seem to be growing more frequent, not less. 

But for travellers stuck waiting yet again, those statistics hardly matter. After years of fixes, promises, and relaunches, the Aerotrain’s journey toward reliability still feels like it’s running on borrowed time. 

It’s not just inconvenient for Malaysian travellers, but also embarrassing for the country’s image. Yes, it’s good that the Aerotrain is finally back in service but keeping it running smoothly is the real test. And so far, KLIA keeps failing it.