question to airline pilots
I recently went on holiday to Italy from stanstead and 15 minutes after takeoff the captain announced we had to return due to having the wrong baggage. So we returned and a Muslim guy that didn't speak much English was taken off the aircraft - saying he was on the wrong flight. No baggage was removed from the hold. I was wondering if this was a standard procedure. I would have thought it cheaper for the airline to continue the flight and send the guy back on the next one instead of the thousands? it would have cost to return, refuel, delay the days operations. Is it possible to take the wrong person? Surely the captain would have known that it wasn't the wrong baggage so why tell everyone that? The date was sept 11th and there was alot of speculation amongst the passenger on the flight - made worse by what the captain said.
I'm sure it was all very innocent but was wondering what the procedures are for this sort of thing?
Thanks