I was out driving my car this morning listening to BBC Radio 4 Today programme and heard the report about the 12 year that had inexplicably management to circumvent all the new security measures at London Gatwick Airport (LGW) and eventually get onto a Monarch Airlines aircraft!
The reporter, Keith Doyle, reported that the first thing that anyone knew about it was when Airline staff noticed the boy sitting down with a snack and drink and then released that he should not have been there! The BBC news web site also quoted that “Staff only realised the boy was a stowaway after he had sat down and been served with a soft drink” I wondered why his boarding pass had not been checked as he entered the aircraft in the first place.
Moving on to my next time in the car and its time for the BBC’s World at One where in an interview with Tim Jeans, managing director of Monarch Airlines, said that his presence had been detected when airline staff had asked for his boarding pass on entering the plane by the boarding door.
Two points here, a) having travelled for many years, I have always been asked for my passport/boarding pass at nearly every stage of the journey from check-in to plane seat how come the boy wasn’t? b) in the wake of the recent alert, I would have thought that even more attention would be paid to everyone that is pass through the airport irrespective of age!
To date, I have never felt any nervousness about flying, but this incident does not fill me with huge confidence for my next flight, which by the way is with Monarch Airlines from London Gatwick!
Tags: BBC, Monarch Airlines, Gatwick Airport
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