An airline from Hong Kong asked a female passenger to take a pregnancy test to prove she was not pregnant before she boarded a flight almost three weeks ago, CNN reports.
What’s going on: A 25-year-old Japanese woman, Midori Nishida, recently said that the airline Hong Kong Express asked her to take a “fit to fly” test to make sure she could fly on their plane to the U.S. island of Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific, CNN reports.
- The test included a pregnancy test.
- The airline asked her to take the test before her flight at Hong Kong International Airport.
- The woman told The Wall Street Journal: “It was very humiliating and frustrating.”
- She said the airline required the test for women who are “observed to have a body size or shape resembling a pregnant woman.”
Response: The airline issued a statement about the incident, CNN reports.
- “We would like to apologize for the distress caused.”
- “We took actions on flights to Saipan from February 2019 to help ensure US immigration laws were not being undermined.”
- “Under our new management, we recognize the significant concerns this practice has caused. We have immediately suspended the practice while we review it.”
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Why it happened: The Hong Kong Express Airways added the entire test to help limit the amount of tourism for the country, according to Fox News.
- “In the past decade, the U.S. commonwealth has become an increasingly popular destination for foreign women to give birth as it gives their children eligibility for U.S. citizenship.”
- Pregnant women are not banned from entering the U.S. territory. Immigration officials can stop visitors if they look like they’re entering the area to give birth.