In both cases the passengers were returned home. Photo / New Zealand Herald
Two airlines have been fined for allowing passengers to fly into the country without prior approval from Immigration New Zealand.
At Manukau District Court, LAN Airlines was convicted and fined $9000 for two offences and Cathay Pacific Airways convicted and fined $5250 for one offence.
Both were guilty of failing
to comply with their obligations under the Immigration Act 2009.
Inbound travellers need to be cleared through a system called Advance Passenger Processing, which sends an automatic message if a passenger is allowed through the border.
In the case of LAN Airlines, a check-in attendant at Santiago airport in Chile entered an expired passport number for a Brazilian national in December last year. The passenger subsequently flew to Auckland.
