By Gabriela Baron
Cathay Pacific replaced a passenger’s airplane token that was destroyed by a Bureau of Customs (BOC) staff in Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) that went viral on social media earlier this month.
In her Facebook account, passenger Cheng Alconcel posted photos of the replacement plane which also included a personal note from Cathay Pacific’s country manager in the Philippines Donald Morris.
“Thanks to Cathay Pacific Airlines Philippines for this token. I appreciated it a lot,” Alconcel wrote.
“We knew how important the Cathay Pacific plane was to you. We therefore hope with this token it brings back smiles and Joy,” the letter read.
The toy plane made the rounds on social media early April after it was destroyed by BOC staff after suspecting that it contained contraband material.
In the viral video, a BOC staff in NAIA was seen smashing Alconcel’s toy plane, suspecting that it has something inside after an x-ray scan.
After gaining netizens’ attention, the BOC apologized to the passenger in a statement.
“We sincerely apologize to the concerned passenger for any inconvenience it may have caused and recognize the unintentional errors committed at the expense of our passengers,” the BOC said.
“[We] understand the importance of balancing security and passenger comfort. Thus, we will review our procedures to align with this goal and to avoid similar occurrences in the future,” it added. -ag
