Man flies to Pakistan using sister's passport

Here at Gadling, we have from time to time chastised the Transportation Security Administration for its ineptitude.

Need examples? Check out this funny round-up from Scott on some of the dumbest things the TSA did in 2008. Highlights include a TSA agent smuggling a gun on board an airplane, agents failing to catch a mock bomb (in front of CNN cameras) and, of course, the famous Nipplegate scandal.

But we also like to spread the ridicule around.

With that, I give you the possibly more inept security workers at Birmingham International Airport in Britain.

A Pakistani man recently succeeded in flying between BIA and Islamabad, passing through no fewer than three security checkpoints along the way, using his sister's passport. When he arrived in Pakistan, border guards there noticed the, uh, discrepancy and promptly sent the man back to Britain -- where he had to rebook his trip, this time with the right documentation.

Businessman Kasim Raja, 26, said it was an honest mistake. He told Britain's Sunday Mercury: "I was in a bit of a rush and grabbed what I thought was my passport as I was leaving."

He added: "I handed it over at the desk, they checked it and everything was fine. When we got to the boarding gate they checked it again and waved me straight through."

Swissport, who operates the BIA terminal out of which Pakistan International Airways flies, says it is investigating the incident.

Mr. Raja is actually angry at Swissport for refusing to give him a refund upon his return. "If they had spotted the error like they are supposed to, I could have gone home, got my passport and still made the flight," he said.

Then again, if Mr. Raja had actually made sure he had the right passport on him to begin with.....

Filed under: Airports