Monaco : AirAsia Berhad has reaffirmed its cooperation with INTERPOL to integrate the I-Checkit system to screen the passports of all its prospective passengers against information contained in the world police body’s Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) database.

Dato’ Aziz Bakar, Director of AirAsia Berhad; Ronald K. Noble, INTERPOL Secretary General and Malaysia’s Minister of Home Affairs, Dato’ Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi underlined the cooperation on the sidelines of the 83rd INTERPOL General Assembly in Monaco.

AirAsia and INTERPOL have been testing the I-Checkit system since June this year and it has already seen impressive results. Since the start of the pilot programme, nearly six million AirAsia passengers have been screened against the SLTD database when checking in for their flights, resulting in 55 positive matches. After further examination by immigration authorities at the airports, 18 of those passengers were not allowed to board their flights.

Dato’ Aziz Bakar said “AirAsia is proud to be the first airline globally to collaborate with INTERPOL to implement I-Checkit. We are extremely pleased to announce the continued cooperation at the INTERPOL General Assembly in Monaco which is themed, ‘Turn Back Crime: 100 years of international police cooperation’ this year.”

AirAsia’s Group CEO, Tony Fernandes said, “We would like to thank INTERPOL for the privilege to work with them and for permitting AirAsia to pilot the I-Checkit system. It is a great product that facilitates our need of improved passenger security and assurance. We look forward to further collaborate with INTERPOL as we grow our network across various countries”.

Home Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi applauds AirAsia for taking proactive and positive steps to screen all of its passengers with INTERPOL as well as their commitment to finding the latest technologies to stop crime.

Ronald K. Noble​​, Secretary General, INTERPOL said “INTERPOL is pleased to reaffirm our commitment with AirAsia to raise public awareness of the nature of organized crime and drive a cross-sector response to the issues and support the global police community in making the world a safer place.”

“The partnership, supported by the Malaysian Government, specifically the Ministry of Home Affairs, recognizes the value of the cooperation within the framework that we have established with AirAsia”, he added.

As part of AirAsia’s partnership with INTERPOL, the airline has painted one of its Airbus A320 planes with a special livery in support of the “Turn Back Crime” global awareness campaign. The Airbus A320 touched down at Nice, France just hours before the start of the world police body’s General Assembly on Monday.

Source : Sachin Murdeshwar