A Safer and Faster Screening Process

The rolling out of COVID-19 vaccines have shown that the light at the end of the tunnel is within reach, thus sparking hope that travel restrictions would be lifted soon. In preparation for the return of passengers, Malaysia Airports has enhanced the safety of the airport with the introduction of the Passenger Reconciliation System (PRS) at KL International Airport (IATA Code: KUL).

In collaboration with Malaysia Airlines, the PRS would speed up the security screening process at key airport touchpoints. The national airline is the first airline to utilise the system, benefitting passengers by ensuring minimal queue time while travelling in the new norm. Through PRS, information received from passengers’ travel documents will be scanned and matched to Malaysia Airlines’ database in real-time.

The real-time reconciliation system uses a double layer encrypted data to further ensure passengers safety and security while efficiently filters out fraudulent travel documents. Group chief executive officer (Group CEO) of Malaysia Airports, Dato’ Mohd Shukrie Mohd Salleh said Malaysia Airports remains committed to working with airline partners to ensure operational readiness when air travel resumes.

“We continue to leverage on technology to keep up with evolving security and safety requirements for an improved passenger experience. With the PRS in place, we are looking at speeding up, strengthening, and simplifying the security process for the benefit of all our stakeholders,” he said.

Available in both Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 of KUL, the PRS is another initiative resulting from the Airports 4.0 digitalisation plan to heighten airport security and airline operational efficiency. The system would play an important role in elevating the e-boarding experience by allowing the airport to implement the ‘open gate’ concept at selected boarding gates resulting in the creation of more space for passengers to sit and wait comfortably before boarding their flight.

Not only will Malaysia Airlines benefit from operational efficiency arising from real-time data, but the PRS will also be able to enhance the passenger experience as on-ground agents can be quickly alerted should there be a need to track the passengers during the final boarding call.  Additionally, any baggage belonging to no-show passengers can be immediately identified and offloaded from the aircraft to further reinforce security and improve the aircraft’s turnaround time.

According to the Group Chief Operations Officer of Malaysia Airlines Berhad, Ahmad Luqman Mohd Azmi, “We are pleased with this latest security enhancement at KUL which translates into safer travel experience for our passengers while at the same time improve both efficiency and punctuality of our operations. We understand that as passenger preferences and trend change, we must streamline and automate specific processes to ensure seamless travel for passengers and allow them to depart and arrive on time, especially during peak seasons.”