KLIA designed for comfort of travellers

PETALING JAYA: The comfort of travellers was uppermost in mind when Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) was designed, said Malaysia Airports corporate communications general manager Nik Anis Nik Zakaria.

Its layout was done in a way that every person arriving there could have 55sq m of free space, she said. “Even with a busy airport, people can still have a lot of free space to move around. So here, even when traffic is high, it doesn't feel crowded,” she said. It was reported that KLIA served about 39.8 million passengers last year.

Nik Anis said most people sleeping at KLIA were international travellers. Resting corners and seats were scattered all over the airport, she said, adding that its transit hotel offered six-hour block bookings.

Donna McSherry, who is the founder of a website known as “The Guide to Sleeping in Airports”, said that people were more likely to fly to places they were comfortable with. Comfortable airports often drew travellers there, she said.

“I think airports have been discovering that people will make their flight choices based on the comfort and convenience in the airports they experience layovers in,” she said in an e-mail.

Once an avid budget traveller, McSherry is now a travel agent specialising in South American holidays. McSherry said that free WiFi and pay-in lounges were a plus, especially for economy-class travellers.

She advised people to explore airports for the best places to sleep or ask staff about it. “They'll know the best and safest spots,” she said. Travellers were also advised to prepare for cold temperatures as terminals would get cooler when less people were inside.

-thestar online.