All the good work to promote Penang as an international tourist destination will be in vain if the first place they step in, the Penang International Airport (PIA), is unsightly.
Penang State Exco for Tourism and Creative Economy YB Yeoh Soon Hin called out the management at the Penang International Airport (PIA) management to take immediate action against its poor cleanliness and hygiene standards at the airport.
“It is unbefitting for an international airport and urge the airport management to conduct routine checks on its infrastructure and smart gates to ensure that these basic airport amenities are user-friendly.
“The hygiene standard and cleanliness of the airport is substandard at the moment, on the account of overflowing garbage bins, dirty boarding bridges, unhygienic toilets and more.
“This is unacceptable and inadequate for an international airport,” said Yeoh in a press statement..
According to him, the airport authorities informed that they are in the process of switching cleaning contractors.
“Nonetheless, a short-term solution must be implemented in this period of transition to address the deteriorating standards of cleanliness,” he said.
He also emphasized that the airport plays a pivotal role in shaping the first impression of the destination.
“Imagine waiting to board a plane in an unpleasant airport environment or seeing rubbish scattered around the airport as you step out of the cabin.
Yeoh also expressed disappointment based on his personal encounters spotting uncleaned trash bins and bad toilet hygiene, of which has also been raised by many netizens across social media platforms.
He hopes that the relevant departments could take immediate action to remedy the poor management of airport cleanliness, such as making the public spaces and toilets clean, as well as making sure that the smart gates are functioning as usual.
“The Penang State Government has been actively promoting tourism initiatives to attract local and foreign visitors. We have even formulated various marketing strategies with a wide range of tourism stakeholders such as international airlines, travel agencies, etc.”
“The poor handling of the airport hygiene will stain its reputation and hamper all the efforts of the state government,” he added.