Passenger gets onto wrong plane with wrong boarding pass
A woman managed to board a plane with the wrong boarding pass after passing through three security checks at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport.
No-one noticed the error until she was seated on the plane and the man whose name was printed on the boarding pass and luggage tags arrived to claim his seat.
Donna Gold, from Syosset, New York says her experience raises significant concerns about airport security.
Ms Gold told CBS 2 that she can't help but wonder what would have happened if it had been a terrorist who made it onto a plane with the wrong boarding pass.
She said: 'With terrorists and people that are dangerous, who are on a mission to do harm, how could this happen?'
Gold was flying from Atlanta to New York on Aug. 21, and had her boarding pass printed at a kerbside desk using her driver's licence as identification.
"You give them your driver's license or whatever form of identification you're using – and that's what use to retrieve your reservation - and then they give you your boarding pass," she said.
She checked her bags with a Delta Air Lines skycap and, because she was late, was directed to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) pre-check, reports the Daily Mail.
"The agent asked me to remove my sunglasses - checking my driver's license, supposedly, against this boarding pass - and I removed my sunglasses and he ushered me right through," Gold said.
She ran to her gate where another employee checked her boarding pass and allowed her onto the plane.
None of the employess who checked Gold's boarding pass noticed that it bore the name of another passenger named Mark Dornan.
Gold said she was humiliated when she was asked for her boarding pass onboard the aircraft and staff realised the mistake.
"I was asked to get up, and, 'Can I see your boarding pass?' And I, 'Oh sure.' I take out my boarding pass," Gold said. "And they're are like, 'This is not your boarding pass.' They tell me I'm a security breach. It was actually very humiliating."
Airline and TSA officials boarded the aircraft. Gold was moved to a different seat and allowed to fly home, after she proved her booking via smartphone.
The TSA in Atlanta said there are many levels of security, and the agent involved should have caught the error but added that Gold and her luggage were screened, so there was no risk of harm.
The agency, part of the US Department of Homeland Security, and Delta are reviewing the incident.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was named the busiest airport in the world this week by Airports Council International.
Related stories
Passenger takes wrong flight without a boarding pass
Man reaches Gatwick departure lounge without ticket
