AN airline has launched a security investigation after the Olive Press revealed that an English tourist allegedly travelled to the UK from Spain on his friend’s passport.
British Airways is probing how British tourist Scott Morgan managed to apparently fly from Ibiza to Manchester on his pal Dominic Carroll’s passport.
Mancunian Morgan, 27, had accidentally picked up his friend’s passport after a big night out in San Antonio.
And incredibly, despite looking nothing like his mate, he was allegedly able to make it past both Spanish and British airport security, as well as BA’s own security checks, without being detected.
“He’s got a beard and I don’t. He’s a big guy and I’m not,” Carroll, 27, told the Olive Press.
“It’s really bad with all the high level security problems we are having in the UK at the moment,” added the chef, who was staying on for an extra day on the island.
Morgan was only eventually caught out when a security scanner at Manchester airport failed to recognise his face and the gate wouldn’t open, said Carroll.
However, according to Carroll, he was merely ushered to a nearby desk, where he was quickly waved through.
“They simply let him through,” explained Carroll. “I just don’t understand it, especially the way things are at the minute. He could have been anyone.”
Luckily for Carroll, a friend who regularly flies to Ibiza for work was able to bring his passport a few days later and he was able to get another flight home.
British Airways confirmed it had now launched a ‘very thorough investigation’ with ground staff in Ibiza over the alleged breach of security.
“British Airways takes safety and security very seriously and we have launched an immediate inquiry into this alleged incident of a customer travelling on the wrong passport,” the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Home Office’s Border Force told the Olive Press they were ‘urgently investigating this incident’.
“Border Force officers are rigorously trained to prevent those using fraudulent documents from entering the country,” the spokesperson said.
“Our officers are also involved in the training of airline staff and immigration officers overseas to spot false documents to stop people from even beginning their journey to the UK.
“Between 2010 and the end of 2016 more than 120,000 people were refused entry to the UK, including those refused for travelling on invalid documentation.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Home Office’s Border Force told the Olive Press they were also investigating the incident.
At the time of going to press, Spain’s Policia Nacional, who are in charge of border control, had not responded.
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You will be waiting a long time for the Spanish National Police to respond!!!!