A man was arrested after boarding an easyJet flight without the correct documents at Manchester airport.
The man, in his 20s, was discovered on an aircraft due to depart for Milan, at 7pm on Friday and was detained by Greater Manchester police officers.
He was arrested on suspicion of hiding himself “for the purpose of being carried in an aircraft without consent and intentionally or recklessly causing public nuisance” after he returned to the terminal, the force said.
There has been no suggestion that the incident was terror-related and nothing suspicious was found onboard the aircraft, the police added. The man remains in custody for questioning while inquiries continue.
In a statement, easyJet said its EZY2127 flight was subject to additional security checks per standard procedure “due to a passenger incorrectly boarding the flight”. All passengers had to disembark from the plane as extra security checks were carried out in line with procedure.
The airline said: “Safety and security is our highest priority and so we will now work with our ground partner at Manchester airport to understand how he was able to board the flight.”
Manchester airport told the PA Media news agency that the passenger was “properly screened” by its security “so passenger safety was never an issue”, and that it was working with the police and airline to look into what happened.
In December last year, a six-year-old boy boarded the wrong plane, making a holiday trip look more like a Home Alone sequel in Philadelphia. His grandmother was expecting him to arrive in Fort Myers, Florida, but instead he landed in Orlando.