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Following is a question by the Dr Hon Kwok Ka-ki and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Lai Tung-kwok, in the Legislative Council today (May 4):
Question:
On March 28 this year, the Chief Executive's younger daughter, who was about to board a flight for the United States, found that she had left behind a cabin baggage outside the restricted area of the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) only after she had entered the restricted area. She then sought assistance from airline staff. Subsequently, an airline staff member reclaimed the cabin baggage from airport security staff, carried the baggage into the restricted area after undergoing security checks, and handed it back to the owner. This incident has aroused public concern about whether there are loopholes in airport security checking measures. Some members of the public have queried whether the airport staff concerned (including staff of the security company and the airline concerned) made any "special arrangement for a special case" in this incident, failing to observe security check requirements. The Secretary for Transport and Housing (STH) said in early April that the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) had been requested to submit a report on the incident to the Government, but the safety of the airport had not been compromised by the incident. Under section 28 of the Aviation Security Ordinance (Cap. 494), the Aviation Security Authority (ASA) may issue a security direction to any person to whom subsection (3) of this section applies requiring him to take such measures as specified in the direction, and any person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with the direction, commits an offence. In addition, it has been reported that in a paper presented by the International Air Transport Association to the International Civil Aviation Organization of the United Nations, it is stipulated that during security checks, cabin baggage must be matched with the correct person/owner (i.e. the requirement for cabin baggage to undergo security checks together with the passenger) and be positioned on the search table so that the owner can open the baggage for checking by security staff. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows, in each of the past five years, the number and details of cases in which airport staff carried baggage into the restricted area for passengers; whether AAHK submitted a report on each case to the Transport and Housing Bureau; whether such reports are available for public inspection; if so, of the means for gaining access to such reports;
(2) whether passengers who have entered the restricted area but left behind their cabin baggage outside the restricted area may request airport staff to reclaim and bring the baggage into the restricted area for them;
(3) of the specific justifications for STH's claim that the safety of the airport had not been compromised by the incident;
(4) whether ASA has issued, under the aforesaid provision, any security direction in respect of the aforesaid requirement for cabin baggage to undergo security checks together with the passenger; if ASA has, whether any person failed to comply with the direction in this incident; if so, whether the authorities have taken follow-up actions (including legal actions) against the person concerned; if they have, of the details;
(5) whether the authorities will request AAHK to set up an independent committee to conduct an investigation into and submit a report on this incident; if they will, whether the authorities will make the report public after receiving it; and
(6) whether it will, in the light of this incident, comprehensively review the current airport security measures; if it will, of the details?
Reply:
President,
In consultation with the Transport and Housing Bureau (THB) and Civil Aviation Department (CAD), our coordinated reply to the six parts of the question is as follows:
Hong Kong has all along strictly followed the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) security requirements in compiling the local aviation security requirements. From the airport security perspective, all persons, including passenger, staff and crew, and their baggage have to undergo rigorous security screening prior to entering the Enhanced Security Restricted Area and boarding an aircraft.
ICAO's requirements on security screening of passengers and cabin baggage are set out in Annex 17 to the Convention of the International Civil Aviation and ICAO's Aviation Security Manual. The key requirements are: (a) passengers and cabin baggage have to be screened prior to boarding an aircraft; and (b) under certain circumstances, screening equipment operators should select baggage for secondary screening, including manual search. Manual searches of cabin baggage should always be carried out in the presence of the owner of the baggage, and the baggage should be opened preferably by the passenger. To our understanding, the document of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) as quoted in the question was a working paper on training for conducting manual search presented by IATA at an ICAO working meeting in 2008. It refers to the procedure for manual search of cabin baggage.
Regarding the incident that took place at the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) from the evening of March 27 to around midnight on March 28 this year concerning a piece of lost baggage, the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) submitted a report to the Government on April 25 and the Government released the report on the same day.
AAHK looked into the question of whether the handling of the incident complied with relevant aviation security requirements with reference to the airport's duty report and closed circuit television footage, as well as information provided by the Aviation Security Company and the relevant airline concerning the incident. The report of AAHK affirms that the handling of the incident did not violate any airport security requirements and international aviation security standards.
On airport security, the report points out that, after its discovery in the departure hall, the cabin baggage concerned passed explosive trace detection; the ownership of the baggage was verified; before entering the departure restricted area, the baggage underwent X-ray screening, which met the requirement of ICAO, but was not selected for secondary screening; and, according to the requirements of relevant authorities of the destination country of the flight, the cabin baggage was also security screened at the boarding gate before the owner boarded the aircraft. After the report was studied by the Security Bureau, THB and CAD, the Government agreed with the report that the handling of the incident did not violate airport security requirements.
The report also mentions AAHK's established procedures for the handling of lost and found items. Subject to availability of manpower, staff of AAHK or relevant contractor for the lost and found service can deliver found items to its established owner if the latter is within the restricted area, after the required security screening on the staff and the relevant found item. For the period March 2015 to March 2016, there were 517 cases where staff of AAHK and its contractor for the lost and found service delivered found items to the restricted area and returned them to the owners.
The report points out that provided that airport security screening requirements are complied with, there is no restriction to prevent airlines at HKIA from returning found items to their respective passengers in the restricted area. Whether to provide such services is a decision of the airlines.
The Government will continue to closely monitor ICAO's latest security requirements and their updates and make sure that the aviation security requirements of Hong Kong are in line with them to ensure aviation safety.
Ends/Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Issued at HKT 15:30
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