e-Travel Blackboard
27 Jun 2008
Changi has pledged to tighten security at the international airport after a security bungle at the budget terminal saw a father pass through security with his son’s passport on Tuesday.
Heng Soon Ang, 61, left his house in a rush to catch his Tiger Airways flight to Ho Chi Minh City and mistakenly grabbed his son’s passport which was lying on the dinning table next to his. His son Vincent Ang, 39, was also flying out for a business trip on the same day.
Clearing both the check in counter at Tiger Airways and security throughout the airport, it was only after the plane had taken off that Mr Ang realised that he had the wrong paperwork.
After the plane touched down in Vietnam, he immediately headed to immigration and told them of the mishap. Airport authorities then put him on the same flight back to Singapore.
The officer who let Mr Ang through the checkpoint said he was cleared as he bore a resemblance to the photo in the passport, and let him through.
He then had difficulty with the Automated Clearance System which continuously denied his fingerprint scan. A nearby official, seeing his dilemma recommended that he proceed with a manual clearance.
Luckily, Vincent Ang realised that he had his father’s passport and cancelled his flight to Hong Kong. He then went to the Tiger Airways counter to discover that his father was on his way back.
After father and son were reunited and credentials swapped they were able to make alternative plans for travel later in the day.
“The question is, how did this happen? From a security point of view, this is pretty shocking,” Vincent Ang had been quoted saying in Strait Times.
Changi Airport has pledged that it will tighten security at the airport, already the department heads have been notified and they will be contacting their subordinate commanders and managers.
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