Emirates check-in clerk jailed for taking bribe

An Emirates Airline employee has been jailed for a year for asking a passenger for a bribe to check in their excess baggage, it was confirmed on Monday. The female check-in clerk from Kenya was also fined AED1,000 (US$272) and will be deported once her sentence is complete. The incident occurred in February when a Kuwaiti passenger, who was a member of the armed forces, was checking in his bags and discovered he was 27kg overweight for the flight. The clerk said she would check the luggage in if he put AED800 (US$217) in an envelope. Before boarding the flight, the Kuwaiti passenger queried the move with airport police and the Emirates employee was brought in for questioning. She later confessed and handed the money over to authorities. The Kenyan employee pleaded guilty at Dubai Criminal Court. An Emirates spokesperson said: "Emirates has fully cooperated with the local authorities in their investigation, and regrets any inconvenience caused to its passengers."