Behind the Scenes, In the Control Room

As we board an airplane, little do we know that a vast amount of resources are involved at an airline’s operations control centre to ensure the smooth operations of flights, 24/7.

20 students from our BA (Hons) in Tourism Management programme, accompanied by 4 lecturers, recently had the opportunity to visit the Malaysia Airlines Operations Control Centre, located at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). 

At the trip, they met Capt. Reza Abd Rahim of Flight Operations and Ms. Serina Hor, Senior Executive of Emergency Management Operations on-site, as they were briefed on the standard operating procedures (SOP) and day-to-day challenges faced by the operations staff. Apart from an exclusive tour to highly-sensitive areas at the OCC, the students also met Capt. Hamdan Che Ismail, the Director of Flight Operations at Malaysia Airlines who shared briefly on his valuable experiences gained from the industry.

The visit was an eye opener for both lecturers and students who participated; through the trip, the students gained an overview of the concepts and implementation of airlines management and operations, in which these can be translated into useful domain knowledge that will benefit them in their future tourism careers. We look forward to seeing visits like this, that expose students towards the practical experiences that are relevant to their future careers.