Collin Ng's Blog

I am born in the 'dinosaurs' era and the word, 'computer' was not found in any dictionary yet.  In the 80s, I was already fascinated with fax machine when it was introduced.  I was wondering how could a whole text be transmitted over and via a telephone line.  It was simply magical.   I started work at Changi Airport in 1982 handling passenger check-in, arrival & departure and manifestations.  Computerisation for check-in at airport was already put in place but not for the company that I worked for.  We were still doing manual check-in for passengers.  Imagine a Boeing 747 full flight which can carry more than 300 passengers, we had to type the name of all the passengers on a passenger manifest which will be used for our check-in at the counters.  If we had 6 check-in staff, we had to print more than 6 sets of passenger manifests.  Preparation works prior to each departure were normally done a day before.  Frankly, typical human e...

This is another encounter when I was with KLM in the late 80s.  I was supervising at the check-in counter which was handled by our ground handling agent, CIAS.  It was another of our usual evening departure to Europe via Amsterdam.  I noticed a check-in staff was taking longer than usual to check on a passport, she was flipping from page to page.  I then walked over to see if I can be of any help.  At the check-in counter, the staff must ensure validity of our passenger's passport must be more than six months to expiry and depending on his final destination, we have to check for the visa too.  In those days, we have to refer to our hard manual if we are not sure if some nationals need visa for the country they are visiting.  Human error is inevitable.  Failure to check all these will sometimes land the airline into trouble with the authority concerned.  It is therefore safe to say that some authorities will simply push the problem back to t...

Somewhere near the rest house on the way up, it was more than 3,000 metres high It is my fourth consecutive climb to Mt Kinabalu climb and barring any unforeseeable, I should be doing my fifth climb next year.  I do not organise many trekking events but Mt Kinabalu is always close to my heart.  It has been an annual ritual of sorts to pay homage, something words can't describe.  Last year, I led a group of 20 and this year, I had 14 comprising a motley group of outdoor enthusiasts, eight men and six ladies from The Philippines, Myanmar, Belgium, India and Singapore.  The oldest member is close to 60, Jimmy who is a friend of mine and he is joining me for the first time.  I must admit the ladies were surprised when they learnt of his age.  Further, he does not look anywhere near 60 age range, one even guessed he is in his 30s.  He even proved that look age aside, he has the fitness and physical strength to reach the summit.  I am impressed, I...