Pilot Not Told: Despite Alarm, Convicted Criminal Allowed To Evade Screening And Fly To Auckland

The New Zealand Air Line Pilots’ Association (NZALPA) is appalled that a jet bound for Auckland was allowed to depart Wellington with a passenger that deliberately refused advanced imaging technology (AIT) security screening, despite the alarm going off during an initial screening by AVSEC.

The pilot was not made aware of the incident and departed as usual, with the passenger, a high-profile convicted criminal, and over a hundred others on board.

NZALPA President and international pilot Captain Andrew Ridling said that AVSEC failed to competently execute the very job they are there to undertake on behalf of the travelling public and our members.

“Their AIT scanners are safety-critical and are effective at screening not just for prohibited and dangerous items but can also detect non-metallic anomalous items such as powders and other substances that would compromise aircraft safety.

“As soon as the incident occurred on December 29, the sterile area of the Wellington terminal was compromised, and immediate action should have been taken. The risk was potentially posed to all flights and their passengers departing Wellington at that time.

“Further, on arrival at Auckland domestic airport , that sterile area was also compromised,” Captain Ridling said.

It is understood that police were waiting on the airbridge in Auckland to greet the passenger, but no further action was taken.

“This latest incident also underpins why NZALPA is continuing to call on the Government to conduct an independent enquiry into the performance of AVSEC and how it is part of its own auditing body, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), making it an outlier among the majority of ICAO countries, including the US.

“Whether it is through this compromised structure or by management itself, the CAA seem incapable of providing the necessary regulatory oversight. This is in addition to concerns raised after the recent ICAO security audit.

“AVSEC receives taxpayer money to provide the critical safety service in addition to collecting security levies placed on airline passengers’ tickets.

“The Government needs to step in and re-align a department that seems to be failing from poor oversight so that taxpayer and passenger money stops being wasted.

“The primary concern of AVSEC should be passenger and crew safety -public confidence needs to be re-established in this essential government organisation,” said Captain Ridling.

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