In a press conference after an event at klia2 today, Loke declined to comment further on the issue, saying “enough had been said” on the ILS, which has seen him and his Singapore counterpart engaged in a war of words over the past week.
“Let the two sides sit down and negotiate, both sides will meet in mid-January.
“I will leave it to the technical experts on both sides to sort it out,” he said.
Yesterday, Singapore said it had informed Malaysia of its need to put in place instrument flight procedures for both the northerly and southerly approaches into the republic’s Seletar Airport at a Nov 29 meeting between the civil aviation authorities of both countries.
Loke had previously proposed that Singapore amend the disputed flight path for the southern-end entry to the airport and withdraw the announcement on the ILS approach as it allegedly encroached on Malaysian airspace, prohibited the construction of tall buildings in Pasir Gudang, Johor, and subjected the Pasir Gudang Port to higher risks and multiple restrictions.
The Singaporean Ministry of Transport has denied Malaysia’s claim that the implementation of ILS procedures for the northerly approach into Seletar Airport is a violation of the country’s sovereignty and international law and standards.
On the issue of Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) suing low-cost carrier AirAsia Group Bhd and AirAsia X Bhd (AAX) over outstanding airport taxes amounting to RM36.11 million, Loke said his ministry would mediate in the matter.
The issue of unequal collection of passenger service charges (PSCs) had seen other airlines call on the authorities to act against AirAsia.
The PSC for international flights outside of Asean gazetted by the government is RM73, but AirAsia has only been collecting RM50. It defended its move by saying the RM73 figure did not reflect the level of service and facilities at the various airports in the country.
“We will de-escalate tensions between MAHB and AirAsia,” Loke said. “We want both sides to sit down and talk about it.”
He acknowledged that there was an issue but reiterated that he wanted both sides to talk about it and resolve the matter amicably.
Loke earlier launched new facilities for senior citizens and families with small children at klia2.