Pilot protests at duty-free clutter

Press, 23 October 1984, Page 4

Pilot protests at duty-free clutter

PA Wellington The spectre of passengers and crew stumbling over the clutter of duty-free goods brought aboard planes by passengers has been raised by the technical director of the Airline Pilots’ Association, Captain D. C. Clemow. Aviation safety would be improved if those passengers were; able to make ; duty-free purchases when they arrived in New Zealand, wrote Captain Clemow in the association’s magazine. The opening of duty-free stores for arriving passengers at Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch airports would ease congestion in the customs halls, he

said. "There are many advantages, the most important of which is aviation safety as it would reduce the large quantities of duty-free liquor that are at present being carried inside aircraft cabins,” he said. “This is a major fire risk; not only in an accident, but also in; normal flight if a bottle of spirits was to fall and break open. ■ Also, broken glass is a major hazard in an accident.” He said that arriving passengers who saw queues at immigration and customs posts could go to the dutyr free shopping area, using their tickets as proof of travel, as was done in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and the Cook Islands.