On the Front Lines of International Travel Safety

Airports the world over attach great importance to “CIQS” processes (customs, immigration, quarantine, and security). In the area of security, especially, any laxity is a critical problem. The slightest slip-up can cause incalculable harm to life and property.

Scissors, lighters, and hair sprays are not allowed onto aircraft.

Security has been getting much tighter at airports throughout the world ever since the 911 attacks of 2001, when 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four passenger jets in order to carry out suicide strikes. They piloted two of them into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York, killing some 3,000 people.

To avoid other tragedies of this sort, airports everywhere have since stepped up their security procedures. Beyond the knives, guns, and explosives that had always been banned from aircraft, airports now stop passengers from carrying on such common travel items as pocket knives, golf clubs, camera tripods, toothpaste, hair spray, and any liquid in excess of 100 cubic centimeters.

Individual nations, moreover, have imposed additional restrictions based on their own particular circumstances. Airports in the USA, which are particularly concerned about the threat of terrorist attacks, all require travelers to take off their shoes at the security gate, and for all US-bound passenger flights a secondary security check must be made right at the boarding gate.

Israeli airports, which are universally acknowledged as having the strictest security procedures in the world, treat travelers differently depending on their nationality. Travelers from Muslim countries, for example, are frequently required to open up their luggage for thorough checks, which is why there are always long lines at security checkpoints in Israeli airports. The waits there average around 3.5 hours.

But tight security checks often cause problems for travelers, including missed flights. There are even cases of possible human rights violations.

Taiwan’s immigration officials have won a ­sterling international reputation because they’re very friendly to travelers despite the heavy responsibility they shoulder.

Security processing at Taoyuan International is highly regarded, especially because the airport has struck a good balance between security and service.

In addition to properly covering the bases on the security side, Tao­yuan International goes a step further by providing service with a personal touch.

The airport is the first in the world, for example, to incorporate a courier service into its security operations. According to Liu Chang-huei, chief of the Aviation Police Office’s inspection section, in the past an aviation police officer who discovered banned items in an X-ray machine would send the passenger back to the airline counter to ship the item as checked baggage, but a passenger would often opt simply to abandon the item for fear of missing his or her flight.

So that travelers needn’t abandon things so often, the Aviation Police Office has contracted with a private courier service so that passengers found with banned items can courier them to a location of their choosing.

In addition, passengers forget luggage or other belongings pretty much every day at the security gate. The Aviation Police Office has a three-step routine for dealing with these situations. They first make an announcement on the public address system. Then they rush any unclaimed item to the boarding gate to try and find the owner. And finally, if still necessary, they check with the household registration authorities and other such resources in an attempt to reunite lost items with their owners.

A traveler from mainland China had once lost a portrait photo of her deceased father at the airport, only to receive a package from the ROC Aviation Police Office several weeks later in the mail back at home. In addition to her father’s portrait, she also received a string of paper cranes and cards with thoughtful messages (e.g. “The journey home need no longer be so difficult”). She was quite touched, and wrote a thank-you letter to the director-general of the National Police Agency.

In addition to outstanding service, Tao­yuan International is also very good at its main stock in trade—ensuring security. Last year, for instance, a 10-year-old girl who had been living with her family for several years in the US came back to Taiwan with her mother to visit relatives, but upon her departure to return to the US, airport police in Taoyuan found a handgun and seven bullets in her carry-on suitcase. An investigation revealed that the gun was legally owned by her father, and had been inadvertently placed in her luggage.

The fact was that mother and daughter had passed through Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, JFK Airport in New York, and Narita International Airport without the gun ever being discovered. Clearly the security procedures at Taoyuan are are very thorough.

The purpose of security checks is to prevent imminent crimes. The purpose of the immigration screening carried out by the Border Affairs Corps, by contrast, is to keep people from entering or leaving the country illegally.

Generally speaking, anyone who is subject to an arrest warrant or has been banned from leaving the country due to involvement in a legal case must not be allowed onto an international outbound flight. As for international arrivals, persons who are wanted by law enforcement authorities overseas or are sought by Interpol are not welcome in Taiwan. But such people may try to slip into the country by using forged or altered documents, so identifying them is a key task for immigration officials.

However, an average 60–70,000 travelers pass through Tao­yuan International each day, and the number can top 100,000 at such peak times as Chinese New Year or summer and winter vacations. So travelers don’t have to wait too long to complete border clearance procedures, the Border Affairs Corps has to monitor the situation at the counters and call in people as necessary to keep lines reasonably short, and border clearance personnel must develop the skills to quickly recognize a fake passport and determine the true identity of travelers.

According to Gibert Chen, deputy chief commander of the Border Affairs Corps, immigration officials usually use an “inverted triangle” scheme to examine facial features and determine if any given traveler does not match up with the passport and the computer photo. A person’s eyebrows, eyes, nose, chin, and ears are all on the checklist.

Says Chen: “An experienced immigration official has a knack for identifying a fake passport, just as any veteran bank employee is able to immediately identify fake currency.”

In 2012, 1,174 wanted persons were intercepted while attempting to clear airport security. Imagine the law enforcement headaches that so many people could have caused had they not been flagged down!

Immigration officials strive to be meticulous in their work even while being friendly and approachable to the public, something for which Taiwan is well known to international travelers. When the situation calls for it, they say “have a nice trip,” “welcome home,” or deliver other such greetings. When a traveler passes through on his or her birthday, officials will even say “happy birthday” in Chinese or English. This approach adds quite a personal touch to an otherwise tedious immigration procedure.

An immigration official once noticed a haggard business person returning to Taiwan late one evening after having left the country in the wee hours of that same morning. She couldn’t help exclaiming: “Wow, you’ve really had a tough day! Take care!” The traveler, who had already cleared immigration, turned back and said: “Thank you, young lady. You’re much kinder to me than even my daughter is.”

Airport security and immigration procedures unavoidably inconvenience the public, but Taoyuan International has managed to steer just the right course between the competing needs to maintain security and meet the needs of travelers. That is why it has been consistently scoring so high in international airport rankings.