We'll make KK Air Asia X Hub if terminal issue resolved : Tony Fernandez

Air Asia Group Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes has assured that the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) will immediately be turned into an AirAsia X hub as soon as Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) resolves the airport terminal issue.

In making the assurance, he said: "I will start tomorrow if I can start the plan in Terminal 2 (of the KKIA)."

Fernandes said the proposed shift of Air Asia's operations to KKIA's main terminal would put a stop to its aspiration of turning the state capital into a hub for its long-haul affiliate AirAsia X.

"We have been toying with the idea of bringing AirAsia X to Sabah for two years, but the only thing that stopped us was the airport terminal issue.

"AirAsia has been in a long tussle with the airport management (MAHB) which wants to move us to KKIA Terminal 1 from our current base at Terminal 2.

"My plan is to make Kota Kinabalu the hub of BIMB-EAGA (Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area subregion) that is now coming to fruition.

"We have done an amazing job, when we first came here we carried about 20,000 passengers a year, this year we will carry about six million passengers," he said at a press conference here, Wednesday.

Asked about the timeline, he said: "If we put Air Asia X in Terminal 1, we will fail. We know it, don't tell us how to do it, we know what to do."

He said if the Air Asia X hub plan became a reality, the company would consider the possibility of providing air connectivity between the state capital and cities such as Sydney, Australia and Seoul, South Korea.

"It makes sense to make Kota Kinabalu a hub because of its strategic location for North Asia and Australia.

"My mission here is, I want to get 13 million (passengers) in the next five years," he said.