Boy, 11, boards plane at MAN with no passport or ticket.
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"I was asleep, is that my plane?"
Everyone off.
Cleaning.
Security checks.
Everyone on.
Head count.
That's how Jet2 do it.
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And his parents were doing what at the time?
Or is the case of running away from home, evading security at MAN, hopping on a flight to Rome unchallenged and then returning home yet another case of socially acceptable behaviour? We're not talking about some hoodie with an ASBO here, we're talking about an eleven year old. The little bandit has barely finished with primary school!
10 out of 10 for initiative though
Or is the case of running away from home, evading security at MAN, hopping on a flight to Rome unchallenged and then returning home yet another case of socially acceptable behaviour? We're not talking about some hoodie with an ASBO here, we're talking about an eleven year old. The little bandit has barely finished with primary school!
10 out of 10 for initiative though
Last edited by Callsign Kilo; 25th Jul 2012 at 10:26.
All the companies I have ever worked for did a head count - is there an airline that doesn't??
As has been said previously though to get to the a/c two checks on boarding pass have failed.
I have never envied the cabin crew's job doing a headcount and being human I wouldn't be surprised by the odd error now and again.
But as long as the crew had pots of yoghurt or a can of Coke confiscated by security we have nothing to worry about.....
As has been said previously though to get to the a/c two checks on boarding pass have failed.
I have never envied the cabin crew's job doing a headcount and being human I wouldn't be surprised by the odd error now and again.
But as long as the crew had pots of yoghurt or a can of Coke confiscated by security we have nothing to worry about.....
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You missed one key person in that chain. The passenger! Every year we hear the whines of how bad airlines are. No on-board service, delayed flight, no IFE, no customer service. And yet year on year the fare paying public will hunt for the €1 fare like a pack of hyenas around a carcass. Until the people who pay the money realise that quality comes at a cost then we are never going to move away from bargain basement infrastructure.
Champagne anyone...?
The two "holes in the cheese" that aligned here were the initial passport checks before screening and then the agents at the gate checking boarding passes. If the aircraft was boarded via an airbridge I don't think an on board head count is a strict requirement.
Whilst it appears the airline has suspended some staff I assume a similar action will be taken against the airport employees who let the young man pass unhindered into the Departures area?
Whilst it appears the airline has suspended some staff I assume a similar action will be taken against the airport employees who let the young man pass unhindered into the Departures area?
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And he got through because all the staff made assumptions, the biggest one being that an 11 year old wouldn't be travelling without an adult, would he now?
Time to tighten checks on children at airports methinks. Especially as there are plenty of them who think it's a fun day out to go to an airport during the school holidays.
Got any badges or stickers, mate? For my school project?........
Time to tighten checks on children at airports methinks. Especially as there are plenty of them who think it's a fun day out to go to an airport during the school holidays.
Got any badges or stickers, mate? For my school project?........
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Security and Safety?
Standards for both corporates and individuals have been slipping for years. It is not until the regulator takes real and meaningful action will things improve. AOC and airport operator suspension, Accountable Manager and Postholder removal, heavy fines, loss of license etc. etc. will assist greatly and help to focus the minds of those accountable and responsible to operate in a legal and fit and proper manner.
What hasn't changed over the years is that there will always exist some pilots, cabin crew, dispatchers, handlers, security staff and their respective supervisors and managers and auditors that are not suitable persons to be employed in the industry.
From the sharp end's perspective, it will be interesting to read the report on the incident and particularly on how and what the pic reconciled and signed off on given the dispatcher / handler paperwork and the cabin crew count.
And for those airlines who do not check and count, and pass on or contract out the responsibility to the gate as a time saving measure, it is simply and a deliberate exercise in wilful ignorance.
Safety is no accident!
What hasn't changed over the years is that there will always exist some pilots, cabin crew, dispatchers, handlers, security staff and their respective supervisors and managers and auditors that are not suitable persons to be employed in the industry.
From the sharp end's perspective, it will be interesting to read the report on the incident and particularly on how and what the pic reconciled and signed off on given the dispatcher / handler paperwork and the cabin crew count.
And for those airlines who do not check and count, and pass on or contract out the responsibility to the gate as a time saving measure, it is simply and a deliberate exercise in wilful ignorance.
Safety is no accident!
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I believe Jet2 do not require a headcount if the aircraft is boarded via airbridge unless the captain requests one. Stair boarding however requires a headcount.
When families board flights. they normally pass you a stack of passports in one hand, and a stack of boarding cards in the other hand, with all the kids running around. It can be quite difficult for the gate agent to keep track as the parents allow there children to run where ever they want, including in and out of the gate. while the PSA organises the passport and boarding cards and keep track of the little ones running around. Plus the added pressure of minimal turn around times. Personally, I'm surprised this didn't happen sooner.
There is also the added possibility of parents being over protective of their children. I would thing quite a lot of people out there today are afraid to address children in fear of there parent screaming "child abuse" at them. Just look at how many people have complained about children being searched at security...That is also another factor in the puzzle here.
Besides, Who would ever think "that child over there is unaccompanied"?
The only changes I see happening, are head counts required on all flights. and to enforce the "passengers hold their own boarding cards" while boarding. It is requested in the boarding call that all passengers do this. However. Parents don't trust the little ones to hold their own ticket. Which is understandable. But It only makes PSA's jobs harder.
Or. Who's to say the kid didn't sneak behind one of the PSA's while they were checking other passengers Boarding cards? Nobody has eyes in the back of their heads.
When families board flights. they normally pass you a stack of passports in one hand, and a stack of boarding cards in the other hand, with all the kids running around. It can be quite difficult for the gate agent to keep track as the parents allow there children to run where ever they want, including in and out of the gate. while the PSA organises the passport and boarding cards and keep track of the little ones running around. Plus the added pressure of minimal turn around times. Personally, I'm surprised this didn't happen sooner.
There is also the added possibility of parents being over protective of their children. I would thing quite a lot of people out there today are afraid to address children in fear of there parent screaming "child abuse" at them. Just look at how many people have complained about children being searched at security...That is also another factor in the puzzle here.
Besides, Who would ever think "that child over there is unaccompanied"?
The only changes I see happening, are head counts required on all flights. and to enforce the "passengers hold their own boarding cards" while boarding. It is requested in the boarding call that all passengers do this. However. Parents don't trust the little ones to hold their own ticket. Which is understandable. But It only makes PSA's jobs harder.
Or. Who's to say the kid didn't sneak behind one of the PSA's while they were checking other passengers Boarding cards? Nobody has eyes in the back of their heads.
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The majority of airlines I work with don't require a head count, and the one's that do often take two or three attempts to get the head count right... Therefore I see the whole practise of counting heads fairly pointless.
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What worries me more than anything is that if an 11 year old boy with nothing more than the desire to go on a plane can do it then what are the chances of a very focused and determined terrorist doing it?
You worry too much , as do the H & S executive about us living and breathing. This whole story should be an anecdote but instead is being the subject of fake outrage in some quarters.
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I got on the wrong flight ages ago. It was AMS or BRU to LGW – can’t remember exactly – but there was a BMI (or whatever they used to be called) and BA flight going within 20 mins of each other from adjacent gates. I was checked in on the BA flight, didn’t read the gate, and was allowed to board and get seated on the BMI flight. 
No one noticed until the BMI passenger with the same seat as me boarded and accused me of being in his seat. I indignantly protested until we realised my boarding pass was blue and his boarding pass was red – at which point a very flustered cabin crew member told me I was on the wrong flight and had to get off the plane ASAP!
The next thing I was barrelling up the aisle the wrong way, knocking boarding passengers out of the way, to get off the plane and over to the other gate to get on the BA flight. I just made it! At least they found me before we took off...
No one noticed until the BMI passenger with the same seat as me boarded and accused me of being in his seat. I indignantly protested until we realised my boarding pass was blue and his boarding pass was red – at which point a very flustered cabin crew member told me I was on the wrong flight and had to get off the plane ASAP!
The next thing I was barrelling up the aisle the wrong way, knocking boarding passengers out of the way, to get off the plane and over to the other gate to get on the BA flight. I just made it! At least they found me before we took off...
Last edited by t1grm; 25th Jul 2012 at 15:32.
The majority of airlines I work with don't require a head count, and the one's that do often take two or three attempts to get the head count right... Therefore I see the whole practise of counting heads fairly pointless.
The fact that it occasionally takes an extra count is, in my opinion, not a valid reason for not conducting same. It's a procedure which is the last line of defence.
The last Company I flew with for several years was a loco where we did 25 minute turnrounds and the cabin crew were always required to do a headcount - if there was a discrepancy it was sorted before departure.
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Great adventure for the lad when his friends were probably in their bedrooms playing video games. 10.5/10 to him 
Wish there were more like him
No system is perfect - suspending the staff is just a knee-jerk reaction to satisfy the numpties. I hope those affected are having a good time on the beach on full pay before their re-instatement.
Wish there were more like him
No system is perfect - suspending the staff is just a knee-jerk reaction to satisfy the numpties. I hope those affected are having a good time on the beach on full pay before their re-instatement.
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the jet2 boss has admitted to the bbc that they didnt (before today) do a headcount when they have used an airbridge (jetway).
what i dont understand is why the hugely expensive "swipe your boarding card" automatic gates BEFORE security that manchester airport spent so much time and effort to invest in, are no longer being used. someone posted on the Manchester Evening News website that "passengers didn't understand how to use them". well how hard can it be to hold a barcode against a barcode reader and step forward when the light goes green ? if they had been in place this would not have happened.
i flew out of manchester on sunday. before reaching the departue lounge my boarding card was checked only by the staff member who was handing out the trays and loading the xray. which looked like a busy job as she was also trying to help the dizzy person in front of me walk through the metal detector turnstile gate thing they have now. too many things to concentrate on at once, if it gets busy its easy to see how someone could get that far. the non-checking at the gate before boarding is less easy to understand but probably as people have suggested above, no-one expects 11 year olds to have the initiative to get that far into the system without a reason to be there.
and the lack of headcount was bad procedures. just an unfortunate triple-whammy here but sure people will be more careful in future.
what i dont understand is why the hugely expensive "swipe your boarding card" automatic gates BEFORE security that manchester airport spent so much time and effort to invest in, are no longer being used. someone posted on the Manchester Evening News website that "passengers didn't understand how to use them". well how hard can it be to hold a barcode against a barcode reader and step forward when the light goes green ? if they had been in place this would not have happened.
i flew out of manchester on sunday. before reaching the departue lounge my boarding card was checked only by the staff member who was handing out the trays and loading the xray. which looked like a busy job as she was also trying to help the dizzy person in front of me walk through the metal detector turnstile gate thing they have now. too many things to concentrate on at once, if it gets busy its easy to see how someone could get that far. the non-checking at the gate before boarding is less easy to understand but probably as people have suggested above, no-one expects 11 year olds to have the initiative to get that far into the system without a reason to be there.
and the lack of headcount was bad procedures. just an unfortunate triple-whammy here but sure people will be more careful in future.