Airports are probably one of the most secure and guarded places you can get. So, for a man to make his way through security and board a plane without a passport or boarding pass, it’s a pretty shocking security breach.
That occurred this week in Dublin Airport as a 48-year-old man, Abdul Ahmead, “barged past” staff and gained access to an Aer Lingus flight to Birmingham on Monday without proper documentation.
In the same week that the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) announced a 15-point plan to improve standards for passengers at Dublin Airport over the coming months, they were forced to deal with the embarrassing fallout from the security violation.
After staff alerted the airport police, the man was detained and removed from the aircraft being take-off. Abdul Ahmead was fined €700 at the Criminal Courts of Justice on Tuesday after being charged with intent to commit an offence, and with failure to produce a valid passport or similar document as a non-national of the state.
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While the man was intercepted before the flight departed, there will be serious questions asked as to how someone was able to make it that far in Dublin Airport’s terminal 2 without the basic documentation.
A spokesperson for the Dublin Airport Authority said in a statement: “We never comment on security matters for obvious reasons.
We note the speedy apprehension of the individual in this case by Airport Police, who was caught trespassing without a boarding card after being security screened, and his subsequent arrest by An Garda Siochana and successful prosecution before the courts.
As with any such incident, an internal review is underway.”
As tempting as it now sounds, the next time you get to the airport and realise you left your passport at home, maybe it’s best not to just chance your arm!
Topics: Ireland
Conor Paterson