Man manages to board wrong plane at Manchester Airport...but the captain allows him to fly anyway

[webfact]

Man manages to board wrong plane at Manchester Airport...but the captain allows him to fly anyway
BY CHARLOTTE COX

The male passenger used a boarding pass for earlier flight to get onto a later plane to Cyprus

MANCHESTER: -- A passenger was able to board a plane from Manchester Airport with the wrong boarding pass - and the captain let him fly even when the error was discovered.

The M.E.N. has learned how a blunder on Sunday meant that a young male passenger managed to board a flight to Paphos on Sunday afternoon.

Although he did have a ticket to Paphos - the correct destination - his plane had in fact left earlier.

But somehow, he was able to get through the gate with his boarding pass and get on flight EZY1973, due to depart 25 minutes later.

It is understood the pilot came down the plane to speak with the passenger before take-off, which was delayed by 30 minutes as a result.

Full story: http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/man-manages-board-wrong-plane-11247305#ICID=FB-MEN-main

-- Manchester Evening News 2016-04-27

[Merylhighground]

I bet he was popular among his fellow passengers but at least he got there and one hopes he has a nice holiday. Paphos is delightful.

[Grouse]

Budget airlines

[laolover88]

Paphetic.

[daveAustin]

... the pilot thought he was good to go when he saw man was sans backpack and dodgy beard.

[impulse]

Makes me nostalgic for the days when you could walk up to the United gate with a 3 week old Pan Am ticket, and probably get a seat.

But I don't miss those prices.

[lonewolf99]

At Don Muang in Nov last year, young Chinese man and also, travelling seperately, a woman with a small child their destination was Macau...

They were on the bus out to the Air Asia flight I was on ...destination Kuala Lumpur... they were taken back to the terminal but not after ground crew shouted out their names and destination about 20 times did they respond and had the boarding cards checked again... so after umpteen boarding pass and I.D. checks systems fail.

[sanukjim]

I think the budget airlines motto is "Hire all your bumbling relatives first then fill in the rest of the staff with the mentally handicapped,"

[Grouse]

I think the budget airlines motto is "Hire all your bumbling relatives first then fill in the rest of the staff with the mentally handicapped,"

And have P2F (pay to fly) First Officers!

[Baerboxer]

I think the budget airlines motto is "Hire all your bumbling relatives first then fill in the rest of the staff with the mentally handicapped,"

Please don't insult the mentally challenged in this way.

[neverdie]

I think the budget airlines motto is "Hire all your bumbling relatives first then fill in the rest of the staff with the mentally handicapped,"

And have P2F (pay to fly) First Officers!

You forgot to mention about the bit where the 'captain' who had the pleasure of sitting next to the P2F only has 5,000 hours himself, 40% which were accumulated when he was the P2F F.O. 55555555

Good stuff is t it.

Edited April 28, 2016 by neverdie

[Grouse]

I think the budget airlines motto is "Hire all your bumbling relatives first then fill in the rest of the staff with the mentally handicapped,"

And have P2F (pay to fly) First Officers!

You forgot to mention about the bit where the 'captain' who had the pleasure of sitting next to the P2F only has 5,000 hours himself, 40% which were accumulated when he was the P2F F.O. 55555555

Good stuff is t it.

Roger that!

[dunroaming]

millions of people fly every month and just occasionally human errors are made but given the volume of traffic the record is pretty impressive

[sandyf]

Budget airlines

Not so much budget as Easyjet. When I flew with Easyjet they didn't use boarding passes, just checked in online, dropped your bags and went to the gate with your ticket. When you arrived at the gate you were just given a numbered card which was surrendered on leaving the gate there were no seat allocations, just like getting on a bus.

If they still use the same system chances are that this man was at the gate with a card for the correct flight and somehow missed it and the staff didn't pick up on a card missing. All he would need to do is wait at the gate and board the next flight, this time they would have seen more cards than passengers.

His luggage must have been on the correct flight, that would have been checked in against his ticket.

[Scott]

I recently was flying from one of the smaller airports in Thailand back to BKK. I had taken one carrier to the destination, but was flying back on another carrier -- the flights were booked by the employer. There were only two boarding gates and no signs and the announcement for the flight was made in Thai. I made it on the plane, but was stopped by the airline hostess pointing me to the seat who caught that I was on the wrong flight.

[impulse]

I recently was flying from one of the smaller airports in Thailand back to BKK. I had taken one carrier to the destination, but was flying back on another carrier -- the flights were booked by the employer. There were only two boarding gates and no signs and the announcement for the flight was made in Thai. I made it on the plane, but was stopped by the airline hostess pointing me to the seat who caught that I was on the wrong flight.

Same thing happened to me in Denver. Two lines, one to Houston, the other to Chicago. I got in the wrong line and didn't figure it out until I looked around for my seat, and that airplane configuration didn't have that seat number. Right about that time, the flight attendant called my name on the intercom and shuffled me off one plane and onto mine. Legacy carriers and Post 9/11- not the budget guys or the good old days.

Edited April 29, 2016 by impulse