By DPA,
Kuala Lumpur : Malaysia’s no-frills airport terminal was evacuated and more than 20 flights delayed Friday after a fire broke out at a duty-free shop in the departure hall.
No flights were cancelled in the morning fire, which caused thick smoke to choke the halls of the Low Cost Carrier Terminal and forced passengers and staff to evacuate, said Tony Fernandes, head of budget carrier Air Asia, the airport’s anchor airline.
Azmi Murad, senior general manager with operator Malaysia Airports, said the fire was caused by sparks from ongoing construction work to expand the terminal.
“The terminal was not closed. There was a lot of smoke but it was a small fire that was put out immediately,” he was quoted as saying by the Star online news portal.
He said there were no reported injuries in the incident.
The terminal, which was opened in 2006, has recently been expanded to fit a capacity of 15 million passengers a year.