Terror alert after traveller flies to Pakistan on sister's passport

Dec 27 2008

BUNGLING airport security staff allowed a Midland traveller to fly to Pakistan using his SISTER’s passport.

Businessman Kasim Raja, aged 26, from Moseley, went through three security checks unchallenged at Birmingham International Airport before boarding a Pakistan International Airlines flight to Islamabad last weekend.

It wasn’t until he arrived in the Pakistani capital that border control staff noticed he was carrying his sister’s passport. They bustled Mr Raja onto a flight back to Birmingham, despite his pleas that he had made a simple mistake.

“I was in a bit of a rush and grabbed what I thought was my passport as I was leaving,” the real estate developer told the Sunday Mercury.

“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.

“I was planning to stay in Pakistan for 10 days, and was travelling with my father to visit friends and family. Now I’ve lost £1,000 on this trip, had to pay again and reschedule my flight.

“I could have been anyone – it doesn’t say much for airport security.”

Last night, a spokesman for Swissport, which handles check-in procedures