KL airport ceiling leaks due to heavy rain, gets compared to Jewel Rain Vortex at Changi Airport

Heavy rains around Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal One on Nov. 14 afternoon caused the ceiling to leak.

November Rain

Videos of the incident shared to social media platforms X and Facebook showed water pouring out of where the roof met a support pillar between two rows of check-in counters.

The videos appeared to show travellers and staff staring at the indoor waterfall, uncertain of what to do, as some initially remained in queues at nearby counters.

Some staff simply looked on, as if perplexed.

As the deluge continued, some staff attempted to rectify the issue by using mops and ride-on mops, while security staff used retractable barriers to cordon off the area.

A video taken in the evening appeared to show the aftermath of the leak, with a shallow but wide pool of water covering most of the concourse.

It also appeared that other parts of the airport were affected, with videos showing water pouring down on a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf outlet, while staff attempted to cover televisions and refrigerators with tarps.

Jewel 2

Free Malaysia Today reported that KLIA’s social media channels released a statement at around 5pm on Friday, saying that it was “aware of the storm-related water leakage affecting parts of KLIA this afternoon”.

It added that teams were placed on “high alert” while “prioritising passenger safety, containment efforts, and the protection of electrical systems”, with engineering, operations, and safety teams “already on-site managing the situation”.

It is not currently known if flights were delayed as a result.

Social media users managed to find some humour in the situation, with some saying that KLIA had a new attraction, an indoor waterfall and pool, a la the Jewel Rain Vortex at Singapore's Changi Airport.

Others sarcastically said KLIA had found a way to rival Changi Airport, dubbing their post’s location as “Jewel 2, KLIA”.

Top image via X & Changi Airport