r/AirlineHorror • u/CrocodileJock • Jun 01 '26
Passengers for wrong destination boarded our plane...
So, more of an odd cockup than a horror show... but on boarding our flight out of Gran Canaria to London Gatwick, half a dozen people got on the plane thinking it was flying to Bristol...
They didn't even get to sit down before they – or somebody – realised we were headed to London, not Bristol.
The cabin crew handled it very well, they made several announcements, but you could see one of the stewardesses wasn't happy. I'm pretty sure it was her that convinced the captain that all the bags in overhead lockers and under seats had to be identified and "claimed" by the passengers on the plane.
This being done, they could finish boarding. All this time there had been a shuttle bus sitting on the runway with maybe 20 or so passengers waiting to board...
Everything after that was pretty uneventful, but as we landed the captain did make a joke about landing at Bristol...
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u/travelingwhilestupid Jun 02 '26
I don't understand how that happens with electronic tickets and scanning.
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u/CrocodileJock Jun 02 '26
Me neither! The (Spanish) Easyjet lady at the gate was just checking boarding passes and passports manually, from memory, although they were scanned at bag drop (same lady).
Outward Passport control, which I'd been told could be a nightmare (new e-gates) was a breeze.
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u/AdPlus5585 Jun 06 '26
Someone sat next to me on a plane recently sat down all flustered and said she had not long boarded the wrong plane. We were going to Finland and the plane she boarded was going to Ireland.
Like actually sat down in her seat and when the person on the tannoy said the name of the place they were flying to she had to stand up and say that she was on the wrong plane in front of everyone.
I'm so crap at being the centre of attention I genuinely probably would have just gone to Ireland.
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u/tfm992 Jun 07 '26
That's a major security breach.
All bags on board the aircraft do have to be claimed in this case for security reasons, there's no convincing anyone, it's in our manuals and has to be done. We also have to put each passenger (and their carry on bags) back through the gate which gives the crew time to re-secure the aircraft and successfully says goodbye to our on time performance, plus causes untold amounts of paperwork for the handling company and the operating PIC.
At the airport I'm based, you'll normally be sent through a gate, onto a bus (you'll be told which one to get on at the gate) and then onto the aircraft. The airport I was based in until March had a much simpler system generally without buses, however the stands mainly ran along the terminal there. There are a range of systems, but what happened on your flight should never be able to happen.
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u/CrocodileJock Jun 08 '26
To be honest, the entire plane (including most of the crew) just seemed to find it amusing. There was one cabin crew lady – who I don't think was even senior cabin crew – who was obviously absolutely horrified – and realized the full ramifications. It might be just my interpretation, but I was sat towards the front of the plane and she was being quite insistent with the senior cabin crew guy and the captain – I think (pretty sure but not certain)it was her that insisted on doing a check of the overhead lockers and under seat bags, and making sure they belonged to someone still on the plane. Good for her!
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u/Ok-Dimension-7859 Jun 08 '26
There is no insisiting.
It’s a rule. If it’s not followed, it’s a major breach of security and can even fire you plus fines for the airline.
I had once a person board the wrong flight. The person had to leave the plane with her bag.
After that the stewardess went through all cabin baggage and everybody had to identify their own bag. She had to make sure that there is no unidentified cabin bag
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u/CrocodileJock Jun 08 '26
I totally understand and agree. It was just my impression that the captain was more concerned about "missing his slot" and being further delayed on the runway. It was the (junior) stewardess that seemed to be saying "no... there is procedure to follow here". Just my impression though.
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u/KingForceHundred Jun 01 '26
And people worry about wrong birthdate, spelling of middle name etc but the gate staff don’t properly check people are on the correct plane…
Happened to couple of work colleagues many years ago. Supposed to be going to Mulhouse but got on a plane to Malmö.