Budget airline AirAsia says it will become the first carrier to check its passengers' passports against Interpol's database of stolen and lost travel documents.
The Kuala Lumpur-based airline said on Tuesday it will begin implementing the screening this month as part of its effort to enhance aviation security in the aftermath of the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines jet on March 8.
The Interpol database had previously been available only to government immigration authorities. Interpol's I-Checkit system will be deployed across all of AirAsia's international operations, covering 600 flights daily.
Attempts to solve the mystery of what happened to the missing Malaysia Airlines plane with 239 people on board revealed that two of its passengers had travelled with stolen passports. The Austrian and Italian passports used were on Interpol's database as having been stolen in Thailand.
Ronald Noble, Interpol secretary general, said the decision of AirAsia to screen its passengers using the Interpol database "will raise the bar across the industry for passenger safety and security".
"After today, airlines will no longer have to depend solely on countries screening passports to keep passengers safe from terrorists and other criminals who use stolen passports to board flights," he said.
At present, fewer than 10 countries systematically screen passenger passports against the Interpol database.
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