Kuala Lumpur International Airport implements quick response team to expedite arrival process for foreign tourists entering Malaysia

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The teams be on duty during peak hours from 2pm to 8pm, working on 26 counters.

The Immigration of Department of Malaysia has implemented a quick response team (QRT) at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to help expedite the clearance process for foreign tourists entering the country.

As on 1 February 2023, 12 QRT officers were stationed at the KLIA counters to assist officers during peak hours. Comprising a total of 30 officers, the QRT has been divided into two teams in KLIA and KLIA2, with officers working in the operational sector and other support services. They will be on duty during peak hours from 2pm to 8pm, working on a total of 26 counters at the airports.

According to Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud, Director General of Immigration (pictured above, patterned shirt), the teams were given exposure and training before being assigned to the counters.

"The congestion during peak hours is due to the strict inspection of foreign visitors from high-risk countries," he elaborated after inspecting the implementation at KLIA.

Since the implementation of QRT, a total of 780 tourists were able to enter within an hour — higher than the usual amount of 495 people.

This QRT initiative will also be implemented at the Johor Causeway locations - Immigration, Customs and Quarantine Complex of the Sultan Iskandar Building and the Sultan Abu Bakar Immigration and Customs Complex, starting 6 February 2023.

This is in line with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's who has previously stated that this effort was necessary to resolve the issue of congestion at the Malaysia-Singapore border entrance.

Another factor impacting congestion at the KLIA immigration counter was the arrival of flights every five to 10 minutes, or the total arrival of between 26 and 27 flights in four hours during peak hours. As Dzaimee shared, "statistics on the entry of foreign tourists last year recorded a total of 5,778,393 people with a monthly estimate of 481,532 people or 16,051 people daily and 668 every hour."

Up to 31 January, the country recorded a total of 495,210 foreign tourists entering Malaysia. The daily estimate for incoming foreign tourists is 15,975 and 666 people per hour.

In line with the QRT, other initiatives to handle congestion at KLIA includes the facility of automatic gates for long-term pass holders which was launched on 15 November 2022. Up until until 29 January, a total of 15,708 Long Term Pass Holder visitors have reportedly to have used the automatic gate facility at KLIA.

Lead image / Immigration Department of Malaysia Facebook