Questions and Answers

I thought I would share an experience rather than pose a question.

I have been following the blog for approx. 2 years now and finally travelled to the Maldives thanks to miles/points. My husband and I stayed at the Park Hyatt and had the trip of a lifetime. Unfortunately, we had a bit of a scary experience at the Male airport courtesy of Maldivian Airlines and the local tourist police. As you know, the Park Hyatt arranges the transportation back to the Male airport via Maldivian Airlines. Upon departure from the hotel, we were transported via speed boat to Kooddoo Island and then ticketed on Maldivian Airlines to Male. The Hyatt Representative took care of the “check in” process and distributed boarding passes (there were a total of 4 people from Hyatt).We went through security (bags too) and proceeded to waiting room. We had about an hour wait in the Koodoo ariport with the remaining passengers which consisted of 20+ folks from a Asian tour group and 4 “Maldivian locals”. It was a routine, uneventful flight and I enjoyed looking out the window above all the atolls. Upon landing, the exit door opened and a tourist police officer boarded and went directly to the cockpit. We were seated in row 1 and were among the first off the plane. We collected our gate checked bags and within 1 minute had ventured to baggage claim. I was immediately met by a group of 6 police officers in baggage claim.The main officer was holding a small black plastic object in his palm and asked me if this object was mine. I glanced at the object and shook my head “no” and asked what it was…He replied that it was a knife.
We retrieved our luggage and started walking down the hallway toward the main terminal. Strangely, the entire group of officers followed behind us. We were greeted by the Male based Hyatt rep who said he would escort us to the international terminal for our next flight. That is when the police group intervened.They said that both my husband and I needed to go to the police station so they could file a report. The Hyatt rep was able to translate and get more information. Apparently, the airline captain received information during the flight that there was a knife on board. The “information” specifically named my seat. That is why the police boarded upon landing. They mysteriously found this object which resembled a box cutter in or under my seat. Hmm..They found this knife within minutes of me leaving the plane. Row one is a “bulkhead” seat with no under seat storage. The seats on this prop plane were tiny and narrow. Trust me, I would have noticed if something was stashed in the cushion cracks (Princess & the Pea style). Both my husband and I were shocked that this was happening. We were then escorted to the police department where they took our passports. Luckily, the Hyatt rep came with us and never left our side. We sat for about an hour and were completely clueless regarding what was going on. Everyone was speaking a foreign language and was staring at us. Then, abruptly were we told we could leave the police station. No charges or violations. DONE.

My husband and I live in S California and are in our early 40’s. We have no criminal background and quite frankly don’t know what to make of this situation. Were we targeted somehow? We were the only 2 people on the flight with US passports. I was the only white female on the flight. Knowing that the Hyatt Reps checked in first assured row 1 seating. Were Hyatt guests targeted? My other thought was whether that knife was even on the plane. The police seemed to have it in their possession within minutes of the landing. Was this a fraudulent accusation? Did they plant it there? Something seems fishy…

Why were we so abruptly dismissed? We had registered our travel plans with the US embassy in Sri Lanka. Did this help clear us?

Ultimately, I am thankful for the Hyatt Rep that stayed with us for the hour. The entire experience makes me not want to go back. Were we just in the wrong place at the wrong time? Was there a terrorist that was supposed to retrieve the knife?

I know you have blogged about security in foreign countries in the past. We travel internationally approx twice a year and consider ourselves seasoned travelers. I have never felt so vulnerable!

Wow, that is scary! Thank you for sharing your story.

That would be nerve wracking situation. We are traveling there next month and I’m hoping there are no encores!

My guess is that they figured two white Americans staying at the Hyatt would be rich, and a ripe target for a shakedown. There was never a knife, and the idea was to get you to the police station, scare the crap out of you and get you to pay a ‘fine’ to be on your way. That Hyatt rep probably talked them out of it and got a bit tough with them at the right time in the right way to make them reconsider. Cops in a place like that have a lot of power to eff things up for you and for local people like the rep. But, businesses like the Hyatt would also know the right levers to pull to put things right. That’s likely what happened, and thankfully for you the rep just didn’t wave goodbye at Kooddoo.

[QUOTE=”thelongroadau, post: 13613, member: 659″]My guess is that they figured two white Americans staying at the Hyatt would be rich, and a ripe target for a shakedown. There was never a knife, and the idea was to get you to the police station, scare the crap out of you and get you to pay a ‘fine’ to be on your way. That Hyatt rep probably talked them out of it and got a bit tough with them at the right time in the right way to make them reconsider. Cops in a place like that have a lot of power to eff things up for you and for local people like the rep. But, businesses like the Hyatt would also know the right levers to pull to put things right. That’s likely what happened, and thankfully for you the rep just didn’t wave goodbye at Kooddoo.[/QUOTE]
Interesting theory. We entertained that idea. We wanted to blurt out, “We can’t pay you off. We booked the Park Hyatt on points with a Hyatt Chase credit card!” I just returned back to US last night but plan to forward a synopsis of this incident to Park Hyatt just as an FYI. I would assume that the Male Hyatt rep would have passed along these events to upper management but who knows. No matter how street smart you are, these kind of situations can turn things around on you. Everyone should be aware!

[USER=1596]@Kathy P[/USER] that sounds like a good idea (sending to Hyatt mgt). You might consider posting in the FT thread about the PHM to see if anyone else has experienced something similar.

[URL]http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hyatt-gold-passport/1216828-park-hyatt-maldives-review-master-thread.html[/URL]

[QUOTE=”Gaurav, post: 13616, member: 79″][USER=1596]@Kathy P[/USER] that sounds like a good idea (sending to Hyatt mgt). You might consider posting in the FT thread about the PHM to see if anyone else has experienced something similar.

[URL]http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hyatt-gold-passport/1216828-park-hyatt-maldives-review-master-thread.html[/URL][/QUOTE]
Yes- I will post in Flyer Talk. I have always been an outside observer and not an active responder on these blogs. However, this topic now has me wanting to shout from the treetops regarding what happened. There is way too much info on these blogs about flights and hotel loop holes with points and miles (which I love by the way!) Safety and security seems to trump a good deal!