Speaking to FMT, ACI’s Asia-Pacific Regional Director Patti Chau said there might be problems in the consistency of operations if Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad (MAHB) were to lose the monopoly it is currently enjoying.

She was commenting on reports that the government is looking into breaking that monopoly.

If competition were allowed, she said, passengers might have to bear with inconsistencies of operations and services as they travel through the different airports in Malaysia.

There might be other challenges as well, she added, but did not elaborate.

However, she acknowledged that “introducing competition into any environment would always spur improvement” and result in a push for better services.

She would not speculate on whether the pros would outweigh the cons if MAHB were to lose its monopoly, saying only that it would depend on the long term vision and economic environment that MAHB has to cope with.