16-08-2006, 11:46 PM
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Inquiry after boy boarded plane
Quote:
Tightened airport security has been thrown under the spotlight after a 12-year-old boy boarded a flight without any passport or documentation.
The youngster, who had run away from a care home in Birkenhead, Merseyside, walked on to a plane at Gatwick Airport bound for Lisbon.
Despite airport security being on red-alert following the alleged terrorist plot to bomb planes, he managed to get through airport security and board the flight.
According to reports, the boy was settling down with a drink and a snack when a member of the Monarch Airlines crew realised something was wrong.
The youngster did not have a passport, boarding pass or any other travel documents.
A "security alert" was then raised by airport safety officers and Sussex Police and the boy was escorted from the plane by two police officers.
The boy, believed to be from Penrith, Cumbria, has now been returned to his care home after being held by police and picked up by social workers.
He is understood to have got to Gatwick by train - unaccompanied and without a ticket, which he has apparently done on a number of occasions.
BAA Security launched an investigation into the security breach at Gatwick.
Gatwick spokesman Stewart McDonald said: "The boy had passed through a full security screening process and we are confident there was no threat to passengers, staff or the aircraft at any time."
In separate incident, Thomas Cook Airlines are demanding answers from Gatwick bosses after a man was found in a plane being cleaned and readied for take-off.
The man was discovered clutching a briefcase inside the plane in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
A Thomas Cook Airlines spokesman said: "He was spotted in the forward galley, in front of the flight deck, holding a briefcase. He was not supposed to be on that plane.
"He was challenged by our security staff. When he was challenged he disappeared.
"We have asked Gatwick Airport to explain how the passenger managed to find his way onto our aircraft."
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So much for the ' Tight Security ' that is supposed to be in place .. they could quite easily have had a bomb  ... surely, some heads must roll for those incidents.
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