Floods disrupting northern Malaysia

Floods disrupt bus, train and air services to the north

Floods in the Malaysian northern states have disrupted all bus, train and air services.

The Sultan Abdul Halim Airport in Alor Setar, Kedah will be closed until Thursday to all flights except helicopter services, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Chong Ha said Wednesday.

Heavy rain for the past few days, especially in the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia, had caused flooding in the area and forced the airport to close from Tuesday, he said according to Bernama.

"We would like to apologise for this unforeseen circumstance due to the weather condition," he told reporters after attending the Malaysia Airlines' showcase of partnership with American companies operating in Malaysia at Skypark Terminal, Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang, here, Wednesday.

The airport handles Malaysia Airlines flights from Alor Setar to KLIA three times daily, AirAsia's flights from Alor Setar to KLIA (twice daily), and Firefly's from Alor Setar to Subang Airport (twice daily). Kong said other airports like the Langkawi International Airport, Sultan Ismail Petra Airport in Kota Baharu and Sultan Mahmud Airport in Kuala Terengganu were still operating as usual.

Malaysia Airlines managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Tengku Azmil Zahruddin said the national airline's customers who had booked flights to Alor Setar but unable to take the flights due to the airport closure were allowed to reschedule their flights or choose the nearest destination.

Meanwhile, buses scheduled to run from Sungai Petani and Alor Setar to areas in the north such as Changloon, Jitra, Kodiang, Arau, Kuala Perlis and Kangar were cancelled Wednesday.

“We can only go as far as Simpang Empat, Simpang Kuala Perlis, which is four kilometres away from Kangar, and from there on, passengers will have to find their own way,” said Supervisor of Kenderaan Langkasuka Ahmad Rejap, adding that the bus services along these routes have yet to be rescheduled.

Buses have been unable to go into those areas since Monday when waters rose.

“We have had to also cancel services to Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) in Sintok, Kedah, and many were unable to make it for the UUM convocation on Tuesday,” said Ahmad.

Transnasional, the leading express bus service in Malaysia, has also cancelled its bus services from Kuala Lumpur to Kangar.

“Passengers will have to get off at Seriap and take alternate means of transport to their final destinations. We are doing all that we can,” said Transnasional Acting Head of Operations Muhammad Saiful, adding that Seriap is about eight to nine kilometres away from Kangar.

Saiful said that, at the moment, there were no passengers stranded in Seriap. He said that the other services from Kuala Lumpur to Alor Setar and Kuala Lumpur to Sungai Petani and back on schedule.

AirAsia also cancelled its Wednesday flights from KL to Alor Setar and back due to the floods.

Flights from Subang to Alor Setar and back via Firefly have also been cancelled.

Passengers could move their flight to another date or request a refund, but it will take up to one month for the money to be refunded, a Firefly spokesman said.

Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd(KTMB), had said in a statement on Tuesday that a number of its services to the north have been cancelled.

-News courtesy of The Star-