An intoxicated prankster managed to board an aircraft after deceiving staff at one of the country's busiest airports - causing panic among lawful passengers. The man was blasted for his "stupidity" after he tried to disembark the plane just before it took off.
The incident occurred at Birmingham Airport on July 29 leaving passengers on the flight to Amsterdam terrified. It was claimed he also attempted to leave his luggage on board, prompting further concern for passengers and crew. The airport said the passenger was identified and escorted off the aircraft, BirminghamLive reports.
Details of how the man was able to board the plane were not immediately clear. Passenger Morgan Jones, 24, told CoventryLive: "He (the passenger) told the cabin crew he was supposed to be flying to Portugal, but the plane he had boarded was going to Amsterdam.
"He was trying to get off but one of the flight attendants realised he had luggage with him. He did not seem to care about taking his bags off, which was very suspicious.
“One of the flight attendants marched down the aisle and asked the passenger who was sitting next to him which one was his luggage, so they pointed out which one they thought was his bag and they took it to him, put it in his hand and ushered him off the plane.
“He was determined to get off the plane and they had to fetch his luggage. He waited until we were about to take off before he announced he wanted to get off and he was trying to leave his bag, they had to physically go and fetch his bag for him, that was suspicious to me.
“I have never heard of anyone getting on a plane they were not meant to be on. It is hard to get on the wrong flight unless you are trying to do it deliberately."
Birmingham Airport stressed that "at no time was the safety and security of other passengers and aircrew compromised." The man and his two accomplices were also refused boarding on the flight they had booked, the airport said.
A spokesman for the airport said: “A drunk passenger, flying with another airline, deliberately deceived ground handling staff to sneak onto this aircraft as part of an ill-advised prank. The passenger was identified and escorted off the aircraft.
“This episode inconvenienced others and resulted in the prankster and his two associates being offloaded from the flight they were booked to fly on. At no time was the safety and security of other passengers and aircrew compromised. We strongly condemn this kind of stupidity.”
