Alex Salmond refused boarding trying to fly as Captain Kirk

Former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond almost missed a British Airways flight after booking it under the name of Star Trek character Captain Kirk.

BA initially refused to let the SNP MP board the plane at Heathrow when he tried to use the James Kirk sci-fi alias.

See also: Chris Evans refused boarding on BA flight he had ticket for

See also: 106 people stopped from flying out of Gatwick since June

According to the BBC, Mr Salmond is a well-known 'Trekkie' and often travels under an alias for security reasons.

Mr Salmond had to make a number of calls to persuade the airline to let him board during the misunderstanding, which took place over summer when he tried to fly back to Scotland after a week at the Commons.

Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, the politician said: "It was all sorted out. I just wanted BA to "Beam me up, Scotty." '

A source also told the paper: "Salmond arrived at the check-in desk, presented a ticket with the name James T Kirk on it, then handed over his passport with his real name on it. Unsurprisingly, the woman on the desk refused to check him in.

"As the queue built up and other staff members came over, Mr Salmond made calls to arrange for emails to be sent to him, which he showed to BA, backing up his story. Eventually they let him on the plane."

Mr Salmond said he would now have to change his 'cover name', telling the Guardian: "Now that my cover has been blown by the Mail on Sunday, I will choose another Star Trek character – but not Mr Spock because that would be illogical."

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