MALAYSIA: Malaysia Airports Announced Appointment Of Ersel Goral As New CEO Of ISG. ISG

Malaysia Airports announced the appointment of Ersel Goral as the new CEO of ISG. ISG is the operator of Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport.

In 2008, Malaysia Airports, together with its consortium partners Limak Group (LIMAK) and GMR Infrastructure Limited (GMR), signed an implementation agreement with the Turkish's Ministry of Defence and subsequently took over the operations of the ISGIA in May 2008.

The concession tenure is for a period of 20 years.

ISGIA is the world's largest seismically isolated building, meaning the building moves side-to-side during an earthquake.

The whole building moves as a single unit, preventing damage from uneven forces acting on the structure.

Graduated from Istanbul University Business Administration in 1998, Ersel Goral has an extensive knowledge in airport management.

He has worked in several positions at airports in Georgia, Macedonia, Tunisia, and Turkey.

Before appointed as the new CEO of ISG, Goral was working as the Chief Airportwide Integration Officer at İstanbul Grand Airport.




Tourism Observer

MALAYSIA: Kuala Lumpur Intl Airport Proof Of Concept (POC) For Pre-clearance Of Hajj Pilgrims

Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) introduced world’s first proof of concept (POC) for pre-clearance of Hajj pilgrims.

This initiative is aimed at facilitating the arrivals of all pilgrims into KSA. Specifically, this initiative will eliminate the need for long queues by pilgrims at immigration points in KSA as experienced in the past providing them with more time for their ‘ibadah’.

This is an initiative led by the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) under KSA Vision 2030.

The first POC event on August 24, 2017 was witnessed by the Deputy Minister of Transport Malaysia, Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi.

KSA Immigration has been working closely with KSA-based ELM and Malaysia-based XYBASE to implement this POC phase where KLIA has been chosen as the pilot site.

The POC is planned for three days starting today involving the last three flights of LTH pilgrims beginning with Malaysia Airlines charter flight MH8146 carrying 287 pilgrims.

Malaysia Airports managing director Datuk Badlisham Ghazali says Malaysia Airports is delighted to be part of this milestone development. Apart from the fact that it is in line with our mission to ensure a joyful experience for our passengers, it is also part of a larger picture to establish KLIA as a regional hub.

Upon a successful POC, we expect that the live implementation will take place beginning 2018 and this will definitely make KLIA more attractive for pilgrims from around the region to depart from our airport.

The chairman of Lembaga Tabung Haji Datuk Seri Panglima Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim who was also present said We are very honoured to be involved in this pilot POC as it is a testament to our reputation in KSA as the best Hajj management organisation.

We are highly supportive of this initiative and hope that the live implementation will go ahead as planned in order to improve the efficiency of our Hajj operations and enhance the comfort of the pilgrims.”

All 287 pilgrims undergoing this POC phase will go through immigration clearance by KSA before boarding their flight in KLIA.

Upon their arrival at the Hajj Terminal King Abdulaziz International Airport, they will be escorted through a special lane without having to go through the normal immigration clearance there, saving them hours of waiting time.


Tourism Observer