13 July 2023
Airline companies and not third parties will shoulder the responsibility of sending back travellers who have been issued a “Not to Land” (NTL) order as per international regulations, says the Home Minister.
After a lengthy discussion on the subject of NTL, particularly at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail stated that the Cabinet made this decision yesterday at its weekly meeting.
“This decision was made in line with international laws as well as our immigration regulations,” he told a press conference yesterday.
He said the International Civil Aviation Organisation regulations clearly state that airline companies are responsible for turned-away travellers or those who were denied entry.
He said when a traveller departs from the last location, the airline company must find out if the passenger has a return ticket before a boarding pass is issued.
“That is the international SOP, so airline companies must check that travellers have a return ticket.
“If a traveller arrives without one and is denied entry, then the company is responsible for flying the person back home,” he said.
Malaysia’s immigration laws were also clear on the matter, he said, adding that airline companies were responsible for the deportation of such travellers.
Saifuddin said his ministry and the Transport Ministry would discuss further to find a suitable time for this procedure to be implemented.
He said the two ministries would also discuss the fate of the third party, which the Airline Operators Committee had appointed in February 2015.
According to statistics, a total of 3,984,823 travellers arrived via KLIA between January and June.
During the same period, 14,973 travellers, mainly from Bangladesh, Pakistan and India, were issued NTL.
On another matter, Saifuddin said the Chinese national who was involved in an incident at KLIA had in fact left the country, denying reports claiming there was no record of the individual leaving the country.
According to him, the woman had left the country on Shenzen Airlines flight ZH9030 on July 4 at 8.55pm.
“The news report had attempted to contradict a statement made by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief commissioner, who had said that the two women had left the country.
“There is, in fact, a record to state the time and date of the individual’s departure from Malaysia,” he said.
On July 5, MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said the two Chinese nationals involved in the commotion at KLIA had returned home.
A traveller from China had alleged that she was held by Immigration officers at KLIA on arrival from Shenzen, China, on June 29.
She claimed that despite her travel documents being in order, she was denied entry by the officers.
She also alleged that she was asked to pay several thousand ringgit if she wanted to be allowed entry.
The woman had arrived in Malaysia with her superior, a senior official of a Chinese government-owned TV station.
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Source: www.thestar.com.my
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