It said the waiting time, which sparked dissatisfaction among passengers and airlines, was an isolated incident as immigration clearance at klia2 typically takes less than 10 minutes.

In a statement, it added that the utilisation of immigration counters was at 70% at the time.

Chief operating officer Mohd Shukrie Mohd Salleh said MAHB had relayed its concerns to the immigration department with which it was working to prevent a repeat of the situation.

“We acknowledge certain constraints faced by immigration, and while they are putting in efforts to increase resources, the airport is looking at ways to improve customer experience by reducing the congestion at the area.”

He said this would include the relocation of the Eraman emporium to cater to the expansion and reconfiguration of the immigration area.

The relocation of the walk-through emporium is expected to free up more space and enable smoother traffic flow at the immigration area.

“This exercise is underway, and with the cooperation of all relevant stakeholders, we hope to expedite the implementation as soon as possible.

“This, together with the necessary cooperation from immigration department to fully man the counters, especially during peak hours, will significantly improve the processing time at immigration moving forward,” Shukrie said.