Air Asia X fined after allowing unauthorised passenger on flight to New Zealand

An international airline has been fined after ignoring an Immigration New Zealand order and allowed a passenger to board a flight in Sydney. Air Asia X allowed a Malaysian passport holder travelling to New Zealand from Kuala Lumpur via Sydney to board the flight despite receiving a notification from Immigration New Zealand that he was not allowed to and needed to be spoken to. The airline has now been fined $11,475 and ordered to pay court costs. “He was identified by a border immigration officer as a risk due to an adverse immigration history in Australia. The immigration officer had doubts that he was a genuine visitor to New Zealand and wanted to speak to him before boarding,” Immigration New Zealand said. Air Asia X had directed its ground handling agent to intercept the passenger before the flight to New Zealand. A ground handling agent then admitted that they had boarded the passenger despite knowing of INZ’s instruction not to. Once the passenger arrived in New Zealand, he was interviewed by immigration officials, refused entry and returned home.<br/>