KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) defended its decision to bar a child from boarding a flight, saying it will not compromise on safety protocols at its airports.
MAHB was responding to news reports of a 12-year-old girl who was allegedly stranded at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (klia2) after misplacing her MyKid identity card.
In a statement, MAHB said it was adhering to the security regulations set by the Department of Civil Aviation, the Immigration Department and the police.
“These strict security protocols are also in line with the National Civil Aviation Security Program where only original identification or travelling documents are accepted for boarding.”
The strict rules, said MAHB, were necessary to protect the safety of the airport, passengers and airlines.
MAHB also denied claims that the girl was left alone at the airport, saying she was accompanied by an elderly couple.
“Security footage shows the child together with the couple, who left the airport in a vehicle at about 1.48pm (on Dec 31). We are certain that the child was not left alone as reported.”
It was reported that the girl and her father were scheduled to leave on an AirAsia flight bound for Kuching at 1.35pm on Dec 31.
After realising that his daughter’s identification card was missing, Wan Fadillah Wan Ahmad reported the loss of the MyKid to police at klia2.
He claimed that the aviation security officers refused to let his daughter board the plane despite being shown a snapshot of her’s passport and birth certificate on his mobile phone.
Wan Fadillah, who is Sarawak Education Department’s Management and Development Sector chief, said he was forced to leave his daughter behind to retrieve his daughter’s passport in Kuching.
Upon his return to klia2. Wan Fadillah flew back to Kuching with his daughter on a 10.35pm flight, which was delayed until close to midnight.
Translated from Berita Harian