KUCHING, Feb 21 — A shortage of spare parts caused AirAsia X to paste vinyl tape on the arm-rests of several seats in its planes, said its head of engineering Alvin Tan.
In a statement delivered by the company’s public relations officer to Borneo Post today, Tan also assured the public that the matter was not a safety issue.
“Due to the shortage of spare parts affecting operators worldwide and taking into account that this is not a safety issue, the vinyl tape — which is commonly used to cosmetic cabin repairs — was used as a temporary measure to prevent flight disruptions and to prioritise getting our guests to their destinations safely and timely.
“Spare parts orders placed in Aug 2022 have arrived last week and repair work is currently ongoing to fix all of the arm-rests,” he said.
Tan was responding to a viral Facebook post posted by a passenger on a Taipei-Kuala Lumpur flight on February 20 which depicted vinyl tape on the arm-rests.
The passenger also insinuated that he was embarrassed for Malaysia by the issue.
However, the public relations officer also shared with the Borneo Post that AirAsia X is not the only company suffering from a shortage of spare parts. — Borneo Post
