The failure to stop passengers using stolen passports boarding ill-fated Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will be of concern to New Zealand authorities, according to a security analyst.
At least two stolen passports were used to board the plane, which disappeared over the South China Sea on its way to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.
Security analyst Paul Buchanan said on Firstline this morning airline and airport staff missed a number of "red flags" prior to take-off.
"The two tickets that were bought with the false passports were bought in Pattaya, Thailand – they were one-way tickets, they were paid in cash and they were numbered consecutively," says Dr Buchanan.
"The travel agent did not check those numbers and did not check the passport serial numbers, nor did China Southern Airlines, which was the ticket issuer under a codeshare arrangement with Malaysian Airlines."
The security lapses continued once the false passport holders arrived in Malaysia.
"The two stolen passports, the serial numbers on them when reported to the embassies in question are then entered into an international databank, and that databank is made available to all airlines, all border control agencies, and so they are relatively easy to check," says Dr Buchanan.
"They should be checked. It should have been picked up by the travel agent, by China Southern Airlines, by the Malaysian border control authorities, so there were many lapses here."
New Zealand has a visa liberalisation scheme with China Southern Airlines, which simplifies the visa process for wealthy Chinese visitors. Dr Buchanan says it's designed to attract "high-rollers" to New Zealand's casinos.
10/03/14 Dan Satherley/3 News
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At least two stolen passports were used to board the plane, which disappeared over the South China Sea on its way to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.
Security analyst Paul Buchanan said on Firstline this morning airline and airport staff missed a number of "red flags" prior to take-off.
"The two tickets that were bought with the false passports were bought in Pattaya, Thailand – they were one-way tickets, they were paid in cash and they were numbered consecutively," says Dr Buchanan.
"The travel agent did not check those numbers and did not check the passport serial numbers, nor did China Southern Airlines, which was the ticket issuer under a codeshare arrangement with Malaysian Airlines."
The security lapses continued once the false passport holders arrived in Malaysia.
"The two stolen passports, the serial numbers on them when reported to the embassies in question are then entered into an international databank, and that databank is made available to all airlines, all border control agencies, and so they are relatively easy to check," says Dr Buchanan.
"They should be checked. It should have been picked up by the travel agent, by China Southern Airlines, by the Malaysian border control authorities, so there were many lapses here."
New Zealand has a visa liberalisation scheme with China Southern Airlines, which simplifies the visa process for wealthy Chinese visitors. Dr Buchanan says it's designed to attract "high-rollers" to New Zealand's casinos.
10/03/14 Dan Satherley/3 News
