Department said the bag went through a security check before it was brought into the airport restricted area
ELIZABETH.CHEUNG@SCMP.COM
UPDATED : Monday, 11 April, 2016, 8:00am
Leung Chung-yan (right) next to her mother in the Legislative Council. Her bag has caused considerable consternation. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
The Civil Aviation Department says security measures were fulfilled in the case in which a bag was delivered to Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying’s daughter from a non-restricted to a closed area.
That came after Leung Chung-yan, the chief executive’s younger daughter, left her luggage in a non-restricted area. An airport employee delivered it shortly before she took a Cathay Pacific flight to San Francisco on March 28.
In a statement released on Sunday night, the department said the identity of the cabin baggage owner was confirmed and the baggage had gone through a security check before it was brought into the restricted departure area.
The department said the baggage had undergone a “stringent security check” before it was brought on board the aircraft.
“Relevant security requirements were thereby fulfilled and the safety of the aircraft was not affected,” the department said in the statement.
But it did not say who brought the baggage through the security check.
Airline pilot and Civic Party member Jeremy Tam Man-ho initiated a signature campaign on Friday night, launching complaints to three international aviation organisations and demanding clarification on appropriate luggage check procedures. As of Sunday night, more than 29,000 people had signed it.
Tam said earlier that the procedure used for Chung-yan’s luggage was not common as passengers had to bring their own luggage through security checks. He said according to the 1961 Vienna Convention, only government leaders and diplomats could have their luggage exempted from checks.
The Hong Kong Cabin Crew Federation issued an open letter to Director General of Civil Aviation Norman Lo Shung-man on Saturday, asking him to explain by Tuesday whether it was still necessary for passengers to bring luggage through security checks in person. It said it may call on aviation workers to stage a sit-in protest to wait for Lo’s reply.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1935083/hong-kong-civil-aviation-department-says-security-measures
