THE RTK-Antigen (RTK-Ag) tests upon arrival for international travellers is no longer a requirement, said Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB).
As per the latest standard operating procedures (SOPs) announced by the Government, such travellers are only required to do the RTK-Ag test within 24 hours upon arrival in Malaysia at any private health facilities including clinics and hospitals of their choice.
“There is no requirement for travellers to do the RTK-AG onsite at the airports as claimed by some media reports,” MAHB said in a statement.
It was responding to media reports claiming that travellers had to pay a high price for the RTK-Ag test upon arrival.
There are several types of on-arrival COVID-19 test options available at KLIA and low-cost terminal KLIA2, with the professional RTK-Antigen (nasal) test costing RM100 for Malaysians and RM160 for foreigners.
The test normally costs around RM60 to RM70 if conducted at private healthcare facilities including clinics, and take between 15–30 minutes for the test results to come out.
MAHB also denied claims of monopoly by the private health facilities operators at the airports, calling such claims “baseless” as it is not mandatory to perform the tests at the airport upon arrival.
“The facilities are made available for passengers who wish to have the convenience of doing the tests right away at the airport upon their arrival,” it explained.
“There are four different private health facilities operators providing the services at four different airports: BP Clinical Lab Sdn Bhd for KL International Airport, Edgenta UEMS Sdn Bhd for Penang International Airport, MYEG Services Sdn Bhd for Kota Kinabalu International Airport and Gribbles Pathology (M) Sdn Bhd for Kuching International Airport.”
It said that the Government further announced the exemption of tests upon arrival for travels between Malaysia and Singapore for fully vaccinated travellers as part of the specific safety protocols between the two countries.
“Since the border reopening and the practice of the new pre-departure and arrival SOP for travels to Malaysia, the passenger processing at our international airports have improved significantly in terms of speed and efficiency,” MAHB added. – April 8, 2022
