THERE’S a specter looming above, and below, our airports: air-travel thefts. Mid-flight or in-flight thefts are two of evil afflictions that struck the air-travel industry worldwide, but it is only now that they are getting attention in the Philippines.
This came about following the termination of the services of Miascor Ground Handling Corp. (MGHC).
Cargo theft refers to the stealing of the content, or the cargo itself, from the belly or cargo hold of an aircraft. Mid-flight theft, on the other hand, happens inside the plane, committed by fellow passengers or members of the crew.
Cargo theft has been widespread across the world for decades. It has remained under the radar locally but gained attention only when the expensive jewelries of the wife of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu were stolen.
The theft occurred during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Manila last December, according to Manila International Airport Authority General Manager Ed Monreal.
Box in locker
ACCORDING to Monreal, Çavuşoğlu’s wife Hulya discovered the theft of their jewelry when she flew home to Turkey on August 4. Their jewelry box contained an Escada white gold ring, a ring with diamonds, gold ring with pearl ornament, three sets of pearl earrings and a gold bracelet with diamonds.
Çavuşoğlu informed the Turkish embassy in Manila about the incident, prompting airport authorities to conduct a probe on the robbery. Monreal said they inspected the lockers of the baggage loaders and found the jewelry box in the possession of one of the suspects.
Monreal said they recovered the stolen jewelry from Yves Ronald Baguion, Wilson Mataganas, John Andews Racoma and a certain Alfaro—all baggage loaders of MGHC assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 1. The suspects admitted stealing the items at the airport when Hulya took her flight back to Turkey.
The access pass privilege of the suspects was canceled, MIAA Public Affairs Division Chief Connie Bungag said.
Clark theft
BUT the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back occurred when six employees of Miascor at the Clark International Airport (CIA) took away the valuable contents of migrant worker Jovenil Dela Cruz of Pandi, Bulacan.
Dela Cruz lost about P80,000 worth of personal belongings. He posted his experience on Facebook and social media went ballistic.
Dela Cruz’s video of his pieces of luggage shows the torn zipper and the empty wide-open cases. He cited each of the pilfered items, which included valuables and gifts sent through him by fellow workers.
“Our luggage bags [were] robbed by airport personnel,” Dela Cruz said in his video caption. Sorry to those who sent stuff but were lost; we also lost a lot of things. We will not trust them again.”
As of posting, the video has reached 2 million views, 32,000 likes and reactions and 70,981 shares.
CIA President and CEO Alexander Cauguiran said Miascor Aviation Services Inc. (Masi), the ground service provider and MGHC’s sister firm, has compensated Dela Cruz for all he lost.
President Duterte’s reaction to the two incidents was swift. He called Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade and Monreal to an urgent meeting. He told the two executives that he would relieve airport officials “if there will be another pilferage that will happen again.”
In response, Monreal canceled Miascor’s contract and the Delgado brothers-owned firm would cease operations in March this year. They were asked to prepare for transition on where to redistribute their many clients and employees.
The plight of the company’s 4,000 employees remains uncertain, although Monreal said those who have real expertise would be passed on to other service providers.
Miascor’s side
MIASCOR’S management immediately issued an apology, aside from reaching an amicable settlement with the victim.
It added those involved were terminated “and criminal and administrative charges have been filed against them.”
The company also appealed to Duterte to reconsider his position on behalf of the 4,000 regular employees and their families.
“It is unfortunate that the actions of the six erring employees of Clark International Airport have negatively impacted the company,” the company said. “The recent incident does not define what Miascor stands for and how it operates. Miascor has been in operation since 1974 and has presence in several key airports in the country, including Naia, providing aviation services.”
The company added it has been a major contributor to the growth of the country’s aviation industry “and the company shall do everything it can to remedy the situation.”
Miascor, with about 16 airline companies as clients, is second only to Philippine Airport Ground Support Solutions Inc. in ranking of ground-handling volume, with almost an equal number of air carriers.
The other ground-handling companies are under the Dnata, Skylogistics and Macro Asia brands.
Handling services
MONREAL said all these ground-handling firms have an estimated number of employees not exceeding 10,000.
Among Miascor’s many clients are Cebu Pacific, handling front-line services such as ticketing, in-flight service, lavatory, cargo and many others, according to spokesman Charo Lagamon-Logarta. The other is Philippine Airlines (PAL).
“Miascor handles ‘below-the-wings’ services, such as towing, push back and cargo,” PAL spokesman Cielo Villaluna said.
As this develops, it was gathered that all the local and foreign airlines being served by Miascor are reportedly requesting the MIAA, through the Airline Operators Council (AOC), to extend the transition from nine months to three months.
It was also gathered from airline sources that Miascor is allegedly selling its equipment to other interested service providers at the Naia.
The other carriers served by Miascor include Malaysia Airlines, Asiana Airlines, Air Hong Kong, Qantas Airways, Jeju Air, Jetstar Asia and Jetstar Japan and Cebu Pacific.
Cebu Pacific, on the other hand, has 120 flights a day that include the departure and arrival.
Lagamon-Logarta said Cebu Pacific is cooperating with the MIAA and Miascor to ensure the smooth transition of airport ground services following the non-renewal of the lease and concession agreement of the beleaguered company.
She did not deny reports that Cebu Pacific is planning to set up its own ground-handling operations in the wake of the Miascor debacle.
“The big bosses are having a meeting and I understand that lots of ideas are being thrown,” Lagamon-Logarta. “Management is asking lots of questions.”
Monreal said he tapped the services of Col. Allen Capuyan, assistant general manager for security and emergency services, to monitor and catch those pilfering the luggage of passengers.
He said President Duterte wanted to stop the pilferage in all airports in the country, once and for all.
Global phenomenon
MONREAL said cargo theft is a worldwide phenomenon, happening not only in third-world countries, but even in New York, Tokyo, London and practically every major airport in the world.
Asked whether the pilferages are the work of syndicates or a lone wolf, Monreal, a former station manager of Cathay Pacific, said his long experience as airline executive had shown “that this kind of illegal activities would not be accomplished without the cooperation of several individuals.”
“Many of the pilferages occur inside the cargo bay near the tail-end of the plane, where many of the cargoes are not ‘containerized,’” he said, adding that cargo loaders simply stab the zipper in the middle with a hard pointed object like a ballpen until the bag gives way to reveal the contents.
“To close the bag, you push the zipper toward the start then run it backward and close it,” Monreal said.
He added that many cases of pilferage occur in single-aisle airplanes, which are smaller and whose cargo are “loose,” meaning they are not inside containers.
On the other hand, wide-body or multiple-aisle airplanes have their cargoes loaded in aluminum containers and, therefore, difficult to access by thieves, he added.
“The stolen items are either hidden in their rubber boots, given to other employees to be hidden, while the airline-employed security guards simply look the other way,” Monreal explains.
He added that hard-shelled suitcases are advisable because they do not rely on zippers but are provided with a lock, either a combination or a key. “Suitcases that are fully wrapped in plastic are also difficult to open.”
“‘Opportunity makes a thief,’ the hoary saying goes, and that makes cargo theft as old as the democratization of the air-travel industry,” said Onie Nakpil, former chief of security of Gulf Air and once chairman of the Airline Operators Council. He now sits as one of the members of the MIAA board of directors.
Common cases
NAKPIL told the BusinessMirror suspending Miascor won’t stop the pilferages.
Neither would dismissing the employees stop thievery, he added.
Nakpil said all airlines have their cargo and luggage insured in anticipation of losses.
“The air carriers seldom bother with the pilferages as all of them are simply too busy to attend to the provision of services, which include not only baggage handling, but aircraft maintenance, providing fuel, servicing the plane, towing, cleaning the interiors and lavatories, providing food and several related activities,” Nakpil added. “Most of these are under time pressure.”
According to Monreal, the Naia recorded 26 cases of baggage pilferage in 2016.
“In 2017 this was down to seven cases only,” he said.
Nakpil added that air carriers have their own private security guards but since pilferage continues, he assumes the guards are part of the syndicate.
“In that case, the airport’s security should shift their attention to the threat of terrorism and now focus their attention to the thievery coming out of the various airport gates of the Naia.”
OFWs flow
IN 1975 President Ferdinand Marcos implemented the so-called Development Diplomacy. This period saw the influx of Filipinos deployed abroad—mainly to the Middle East.
That time was also the start of the flood of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). These workers started sending remittances to their loved ones, not through the banks but through fellow workers.
Many of the money, inside envelopes and carried by returning OFWs in their suitcases, ended up being pilfered at the airport. When the Naia underwent some innovations decades ago, thousands of these empty envelopes were found stashed in the airport baggage area’s ceiling.
Nakpil said the aviation security group should start frisking every individual who goes out of the gate, including checking every vehicle and occupant that has made contact with pieces of luggage and cargo in the cargo-handling areas.
Monreal, in turn, prohibited the wearing of clothing apparel with pockets especially for those who got in contact with luggage, stop them from wearing jewelry because stolen ones like earrings, necklaces or watches are sometimes put on to pretend they belong to them.
He directed that all employees related to cargo handling should wear body cameras so that all activities could be recorded. The airport chief also banned cellular phones in the work areas.
Flying Filipinos
LATELY, air travel has become common to most Filipinos, encouraged by low fares from several competing low-cost carriers, coupled with a rising income.
A study found that the Philippines is one of the Asia-Pacific countries with the most international travelers two years ago.
The study attributed such phenomenon to three factors: A “rising middle class” whose households make at least $20,000 (almost P1 million) or more annually, and therefore can afford to travel abroad; increased connectivity through the Internet and the expected opening of over 300 airports all over the world; and an aging population, which is “changing the travel landscape in a very different way.”
“The rising number of Filipinos traveling abroad reflects the growing affluence of the population,” said Kinan Suchaovanich, Visa’s corporate communications director for Southeast Asia. The statistics were also used by Visa, with the help of Oxford Economics, to create a forecast of the travel and tourism industry for the next 10 years. The report projected a 65-percent increase in international travel, or that some 109 million Asia-Pacific households are expected to go on a trip abroad at least once a year.
Not surprisingly, however, the airlines noted an increase in the number of thefts on planes, several of which were reported, although many more are believed to have been abandoned due to the hassle involved, which might cause the aggrieved party to stay behind to report to the police.
Easing worries
WITH all the other worries associated with air travel, the last thing a traveler wants to think about is theft onboard airplanes. The people who steal from travelers’ carry-on bags are both airline employees (usually flight attendants) and fellow travelers.
Unfortunately, theft from sleeping and unknowing passengers has been going on for years—while not extremely common, it only gets brought to the public’s attention when an arrest is made, so who really knows how often these events occur.
Nakpil said items lost through in-flight theft could be recovered if reported on time.
“If reported to the crew immediately, they will announce through the PA system on landing at their destination that nobody would go down the plane until the lost item is found,” he explained.
“Finders are advised to leave the item on the seat or give it to the crew,” he added. This is something the PA would announce, according to Nakpil.
“Otherwise, authorities would come into the plane to search every nook and cranny of the fuselage until the lost item is found.”
The best way to avoid being the victim of in-flight theft is to first be aware of the possibility that it could happen, Nakpil added.