Tunku Iskandar: The Middle East is heavily affected by conflict, and the war in Russia and Ukraine is truly tragic. The dispute between Cambodia and Thailand, however, is a long-standing one. When the French left Indochina (Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam) the borders they drew were not always clear or natural. Some were entirely artificial. Although the countries involved signed treaties accepting those
the region remains calm, and business has not been significantly affected. Outbound travel from the region re- mains strong, especially from India and China. The post-COVID recovery has been remarkable, helped by relaxed visa policies among many regional countries. Intra-Asia-Pacific travel is thriving, not as seamless as in Europe, perhaps, but the easing of visa require- ments is a major step forward since the pandemic.
it was fine, but the travel experience itself was quite strange. I remember stepping out of the plane in Tehran at around two in the morning : it was freezing cold! I never imagined Tehran could be that cold in April. In those days, passengers had to leave the air- craft at each refueling stop and wait inside the terminal before reboarding. Jean-Emmanuel Hay: When did you realize that you enjoyed working in aviation? Tunku Iskandar: While studying in London, I helped a friend sell tickets for charter flights between London and Malaysia. He was very entrepre- neurial and had arranged chartered aircraft to carry students both ways. Helping him organize those flights gave me my first real exposure to trav- el and tourism, and probably planted the seed for my future career. Jean-Emmanuel Hay: Is there a flight that left a particular impression on you? Tunku Iskandar: Yes, on another trip to Europe. I flew with Aeroflot, which was notorious for delays at that time. My flight arrived in Moscow after my connecting flight had already departed. In those days (during the Soviet era) Aeroflot accommodated delayed pas- sengers at its own hotel. You had to surrender your passport and were not allowed to leave the room. I was placed in a room with two other men, complete strangers. I had a flight the next day, as did one of them, but the third was traveling to Lagos, Nigeria. His flight from Moscow only operated once a week, so he had to stay in that hotel for seven days (essentially a week in confinementwith strangers). One night was manageable, but a week was terrible.The food was simple : black bread and very hot soup. Of course, Russia today is nothing like that anymore.
Jean-Emmanuel Hay: Do you have a memorable anecdote about APG? Tunku Iskandar: I have many! Within the Asia-Pacific region, I actually man- age two WhatsApp groups. One is the official channel, for APG information only. The other is a general group, which is full of friendly messages: birthday wishes, national day greetings, and so on. It shows how close we are as colleagues and friends. Jean-Emmanuel Hay: Do you remem- ber your first flight? Tunku Iskandar: Yes, it was from Malaysia to London. From Kuala Lumpur we stopped in Bombay, Tehran, and Rome, and then changed aircraft in Rome to continue to London. I was 18 years old, and eve- rything was new to me. I was going to study in the UK, and I had to integrate into the student community there. After a short while,
borders, disagreements continued. Occasionally, incidents occur (one side crosses a line, shots are fired, and ten- sions rise). Fortunately, these disputes take place in remote jungle areas and do not affect the commercial regions of either country. The ten ASEAN nations play an im- portant role in such situations. The ASEAN chairmanship rotates annually, and this year Malaysia holds that po- sition. The Malaysian Prime Minister was quick to intervene, bringing both sides to the table to calm tensions. Both countries have since stepped back and reaffirmed their desire for peaceful relations.This is quite differ- ent from what we see in Ukraine and Russia, or Gaza and Israel. There was also a recent flare-up between India and Pakistan (much more serious) but it has since subsided. Other geopoliti- cal tensions remain, such as between North and South Korea, or involv- ing China’s naval presence near the Philippines and Malaysia. But overall,
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