A woman who is “beyond comprehension” reportedly boarded a Cathay Pacific flight from Tokyo to Hong Kong without a boarding pass. How did it happen?

The Post is investigating the incident and what we can learn from it.

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what happened?

Last Thursday, it was reported that a woman was able to board flight CX521 to Hong Kong without a boarding pass at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport.

According to reports, flight attendants noticed the female passenger changing seats frequently and were unable to produce her passport and boarding pass.

Cathay Airways said the plane did not take off with the woman on board, and staff alerted Japanese police, who detained the woman. The plane departed about an hour late.

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What are pre-boarding procedures?

Airports have security protocols and clear guidelines for ground staff, security and other support staff.

After checking in for a flight, passengers typically have their travel documents and boarding passes inspected before entering a restricted area, where they undergo another security check to scan their luggage.

Documents will also be checked at the immigration counter. Passengers are usually advised to arrive at the boarding gate at least 30 minutes before their flight’s scheduled departure time.

At the boarding gate, ground staff will double-check the passenger’s passport and boarding pass before boarding the aircraft.

Analyst Yusof said the ground staff checking boarding passes at the gate would be Cathay employees.

“Before they scan your boarding pass, they look at your passport and then let you pass,” he said. “They do that even in business class.”

Yusof added that Cathay Airways was likely to investigate the incident.

“That’s due to human error,” he says. “This should never have happened with an airline like Cathay. This would happen with a second- or third-tier airline. You would expect that, but it didn’t happen with Cathay.”

Are there any other potential issues?

A Cathay employee told the Post that cabin crew previously also checked boarding passes at the aircraft door, but “this procedure has been abolished for several months.”

The flight attendant, speaking on condition of anonymity, said ground staff scanned boarding passes at the gate and passengers could then proceed to the aircraft. Technically, no further confirmation was needed unless there was a dispute over seats between passengers, for example over a possible double booking.

“The loophole, in my opinion, is that they no longer check at the aircraft door,” he said.

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Yusof said passengers had their passports and boarding passes checked two more times before arriving at the gate, and there were at least “two levels of failure.”

Although Narita is huge, it is also known as an efficient airport. “Tokyo is another mystery” where the incident occurs, he said.

However, Yusof said it was the airline’s responsibility to carry out the necessary checks at the gate for passengers boarding the aircraft.

In Hong Kong, facial recognition is used at electronic boarding gates for passengers aged 11 and above.

What happened now?

Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation Authority on Sunday directed Cathay to investigate the incident and submit a report.

Cathay also apologized to passengers for the inconvenience caused by flight delays caused by the incident.

Has there been a previous security breach at Hong Kong Airport?

Several incidents occurred in 2016, including one similar to the Narita incident.

In April of the same year, the woman managed to pass through three security checks without a boarding pass or passport before being stopped at a remote boarding gate at Hong Kong International Airport.

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In two incidents in the same year, transit passengers on Hong Kong Airlines were able to open doors to air bridges within restricted areas that were supposed to be closed off.

In another high-profile case, then-chief executive Leung Chun-ying was accused of pressuring airport staff to deliver his daughter’s bag from a restricted area to a restricted area in April 2016. It was done. Both the Airport Authority and Mr. Leung denied any facts. Security breach.

In 2018, five Singapore Airlines crew members entered a restricted area without passing through security, resulting in a nearly three-hour delay on their flight to Singapore.