MANILA, Philippines (3 Apr 2008) — After causing an ugly disturbance by refusing to comply with aviation laws aimed at enhancing airline passenger security, Palau President Tommy Remengesau Jr. and his wife Debbie lashed out at Continental Airlines for barring them from boarding a scheduled flight from Manila to Palau. Remengesau and his wife delayed the scheduled international flight from Manila to Palau for more then two hours as they demanded to be allowed to board the Boeing 737-800 aircraft despite refusing to comply with pre-boarding security procedures including passenger searches. Continental Micronesia Airlines Flight CO 892 finally took off without the president and his wife at 12:15am, some two and a half hours after the fight was scheduled to depart at 9:45pm. Bomb threat As a frustrated and angry Remengesau and his wife returned to their downtown Manila hotel, the Philippine Air Force suddenly instructed the Manila Control Tower to order the airliner to turn around and return to Manila due to a "bomb threat". Philippine Air Force chief, Lt. Gen. Pedrito Cadungog said he ordered the tower to recall the flight after his office received an "anonymous call" threatening to bomb the plane. In a strange coincidence, Cadungog was at the airport during the two-hour stand-off, and according to CDNN sources in Manila, intervened on behalf of the Palau president attempting to persuade the Continental Airlines crew to ignore aviation law and allow Remengesau and his wife to board the plane without the required search. After the plane returned to Manila and was being searched for a bomb, Cadungog angrily blasted the Continental crew for proceeding according to aviation law and adhering to strict security procedures. "(The crew) decided 'we will leave you, close the door, we will take off'," said Cadungog, who was given the honor of walking the Palau president to the plane on his scheduled departure Wednesday night. "They were bullies and very arrogant," Cadungog screamed angrily. No bomb found No bomb was found and the plane finally took off again at 4:52 a.m. on Thursday morning, more than eight hours after passengers started boarding the aircraft. Among the passengers aboard the delayed flight were all 11 members of Remengesau's entourage including senior statesmen and Cabinet officials who willingly complied with the required "redundancy" check. According to aviation law implemented after 9/11, the redundancy check is required by all carriers as the final step in anti-terrorist "layered security procedures". | | Pro-whaling Palau President Tommy Remengesau Jr. was 'grounded' after disrupting security procedures at Manila's international airport. Only the president and his wife, who refused to comply with the final check, were denied boarding passes. Respect me, not the law Remengesau and his wife finally departed the Philippines at 2:16pm aboard a plane chartered by the Philippine government. It is not known who paid for the flight. After returning to Palau, a still visibly angry Remengesau dismissed security concerns and aviation law saying that what mattered was people showing their respect for him and other high-level government officials. "...there must be respect for the dignity of the highest level of government," Remengesau said. Continental stood by its decision to forbid Remengesau and his wife from boarding its plane without first complying with required security procedures. "Continental employees explained the security requirements of the aviation laws of the US in detail to the president of Palau," Continental said in a statement. "US aviation law requires that all customers comply with security procedures in order to board a flight. So unfortunately, [the airline] had no choice but to deny boarding of the president and his party to ensure the safety and on-time operation of the flight for other passengers on board," it said. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORKSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
