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Iata: Alarm bells over use of stolen passports
Published:  Apr 1, 2014 12:25 PM
Updated: 5:19 AM

MH370 The International Air Transport Association (Iata) has appealed to governments to make use of the expensive database supported by airlines to screen passengers.

Iata director-general Tony Tyler (left) said this following a revelation last month that two passengers had boarded Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH370 on March 8 with stolen passports.

"Whether or not there is a security dimension to this tragedy,  that two passengers could board an aircraft with (stolen) passports rings alarm bells,” he told the Iata Ops Conference in Kuala Lumpur this morning.

"It costs the airlines millions of dollars every year to provide Advanced Passenger Information (API) to some 60 governments. I’ve often wondered whether they were using it.”

Tyler said this is the responsibility of governments and that airliners have a right to demand improved security at airports.

"The industry goes to great effort and expense to ensure that governments who require API receive reliable data,” he said.

"And, along with our passengers, airlines have a right to ask these governments review their processes for vetting and using this data - for example against databases such as the Interpol stolen and lost passport database.”

Malaysia has come under heavy criticism from Interpol for not using its database on stolen passports, which had allowed two impostors to board the ill-fated MAS flight.

'Duo did not have a terrorist background'

Investigators have, however, established the duo were asylum seekers and did not have a terrorist background.

Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein had skirted Interpol's criticism, claiming that the Interpol database is too large, but the agency has retorted that it would only take 0.2 seconds to look up on the information.

Last Sunday, Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi ( left ) finally announced Malaysia will implement the Advanced Passenger Screening system at top entry points, in particular the KL International Airport, from June.

The system analyses information on passengers that is received from airline companies and determines an individual's flight risk based on a few indicators such as age, name and origin.

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