Latest News

  • Home
  • Global
  • Hong Kong airline apologises for forcing passenger to take pregnancy test
Hong Kong airline apologises for forcing passenger to take pregnancy test
Tuesday, January 21, 2020 IST
Hong Kong airline apologises for forcing passenger to take pregnancy test

HONG KONG: A Hong Kong airline forced a Japanese woman to take a pregnancy test before allowing her on a flight to a Pacific island popular with mothers seeking US citizenship for their babies.

 
 

Midori Nishida, 25, was escorted to a public toilet at Hong Kong airport and told to urinate on a strip in November before being granted permission to board her Hong Kong Express flight to the US territory of Saipan.
 
She had declared in a questionnaire at check-in that she was not pregnant but airline staff nevertheless requested she undergo a "fit-to-fly" assessment designed for women with a body size or shape resembling a pregnant woman.
 
The test result came up negative.
 
"It was very humiliating and frustrating," Nishida told the Wall Street Journal.
 
She grew up on Saipan and her family have lived on the island for more than 20 years.
 
The airline apologised to Nishida and said the practice had been discontinued when contacted by AFP.
 
"We have immediately suspended the practice while we review it. We'd like to apologise for the distress caused," the airline said in a statement.
 
Hong Kong Express said it had taken "action on flights to Saipan from February 2019 to help ensure US immigration laws were not being undermined", in response to concerns raised by the island's authorities.
 
"We recognise the significant concerns this practice has caused," it said.
 
Saipan is a popular destination for women wanting to give birth on US soil to secure American citizenship for their child.
 
In 2018 nearly 600 babies were born to tourists in the Northern Mariana Islands, which sit just north of Guam, also a US territory -- a figure greater than the number of babies born to locals.
 
According to data from local health authorities, 575 Chinese visitors gave birth there that year.
 
The influx followed the introduction in 2009 of a visa-waiver programme to attract Chinese holidaymakers, a scheme that made the islands the only US territory where Chinese citizens enjoy visa-free entry.
 
But in recent years Saipan has stepped up measures to curb birth tourism by requiring airlines to carry out screenings.

 
 
 
 
 

Related Topics

 
 
 

Trending News & Articles

 Article
'Worse than prison': A rare look inside China's detention camps to 'brainwash' Muslims

ALMATY: Hour upon hour, day upon day, Omir Bekali and other detainees in far western China's new indoctrination camps had to disavow the...

Recently posted . 202K views . 1 min read
 

 Article
What The Shape Of Your Belly Button Says About Your Health

If you have payed attention to the belly buttons of people on the beach or the members of your family, you have probably noticed that they have different shapes and...

Recently posted . 9K views . 2 min read
 

 Article
Top 10 Horrifying Acts of Chemical Warfare and Gas Attacks

In this age of terror, there might be nothing more terrifying than the thought of an attack carried out with chemical weapons. We’ve all heard the horrific ...

Recently posted . 4K views . 4 min read
 

 Article
Top 10 Best Gym Equipment Brands in India 2018

Body fitness is one thing that everyone wants to maintain irrespective of age. Going to the gym and doing some great exercise always helps to maintain your body fit...

Recently posted . 4K views . 2 min read
 

 
 

More in Global

 Article
Scientists may have found a way to eliminate plastic waste for good

HIGHLIGHTS   • Currently, less than a third of recyclable plastic is re-purpo...

Recently posted. 654 views . 3 min read
 

 Article
Grey is the new hot when it comes to women hair color and a lot of women are deciding to stop dying hair at all.

I remember seeing a girl one time, this was before my current fiancee, that had long grey hair. We weren’t anything but friends or more of coworkers. We didn&...

Recently posted. 843 views . 4 min read
 

 Article
As Pop Star Madonna Turns 60, A Look At Her Scandalous Moments

The pop superstar is turning 60 on August 16 and is again breaking barriers -- this time as a mature woman who is still brash, carnal and unapologetic.

Recently posted. 873 views . 1 min read
 

 Video
Complain Less And Give More



Recently posted . 1K views
 

 Photo
World's 10 cheapest cities in 2018



Recently posted . 1K views
 

 Article
Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn ‘arrested’, to be dismissed for financial misconduct

The Japanese automaker said that based on a whistleblower report, it had been investigating possible improper practices of Ghosn and Representative Director Greg ...

Recently posted. 1K views . 1 min read
 

 Article
600 Kg Australian Monster Crocodile Caught After Eight-Year Hunt

The 4.7-metre (15.4-foot) beast was found in a trap downstream from the northern outback town of Katherine after first being spotted in 2010.

Recently posted. 962 views . 1 min read
 

 
 
 

   Prashnavali

  Thought of the Day

"The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score."
Bill Copeland

Be the first one to comment on this story

Close
Post Comment
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST


ads
Back To Top