Siblings' reunion dream dashed by airport rules

A borthers's dream of seeing his sister for the first time in more than eight years has been dashed by security rules.
Anas Habeeb, from India, works in Bahrain and had hoped to meet his sister, Basihan Sihab, when she transits through the country on Sunday.
She is travelling from Dammam, Saudi Arabia, to India with her husband and the couple is being bussed across the King Fahad Causeway to Bahrain International Airport by the Indian airline.
Mr Habeeb, aged 31, hoped to meet his 38-year-old sister before she boarded the plane in Bahrain to Kozhikode, in Kerala.
However, immigration officials told the GDN yesterday that transit passengers were not allowed to meet anyone for security reasons.
"They come by bus, so they will take them to a special lounge in the airport and nobody can go there, it is only for people in transit," said a General Directorate of Nationality Passports and Residency (GDNPR) spokesman.
"They check in their luggage and go on to the transit area."They are not allowed to meet ordinary passengers. "These are not immigration rules, this is for airport security."
10/07/07 Geoffrey Bew/Gulf Daily News, Bahrain

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Categories: Airports Jul 2007, Foreign Jul 2007