PETALING JAYA - Former transport minister, Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong has urged Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and Senai Airport (LTS) to review their procedures relating to e-boarding passes following his encounter with a passenger at LTS yesterday.
Taking to Facebook, the MCA president said he was approached by a woman just before his flight from Johor Bahru to Kuala Lumpur, seeking his help.
He said the woman, who was queuing with him at the LTS security checkpoint said she had checked in for herself and her father for flight MH1058 from Senai to Kuala Lumpur.
She said her father did not have a handphone so she checked in for him.
However, she said her father was later not allowed to enter the security check area and to board the flight as the guards said MAS had a one mobile phone, one e-boarding pass policy.
"The woman told me that her family of four had begun leaving for Kuala Lumpur, but her father was not allowed to leave.
"She said her father was left behind because only one e-boarding pass was allowed on each mobile phone," said Wee.
Wee said the woman claimed that the problem only occurred at LTS and there was no such issue at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
He said the guard at the counter had informed her that only MAS did not allow the sharing of two e-boarding passes in the same mobile phone.
Fortunately, her father was later allowed to board the flight after a duty officer from MAS arrived.
"I would like to clarify with MAS and LTS as to why only one e-boarding pass is allowed in one mobile phone.
"What about the elderly and those who are illiterate or do not even have a mobile phone?," asked Wee.
He also questioned why AirAsia allowed two e-boarding passes in one mobile phone while MAS did not and also why the SOPs at KLIA and LTS differed.
"How come the passenger was allowed to board following the intervention by the MAS official? Is there some magic involved?," he asked.
Wee urged the management of MAS to revise the SOPs and discuss with LTS and the auxiliary police to ensure such incidents do not recur. - The Vibes, November 6, 2023