Investigations are underway after a woman managed to board a flight from Copenhagen to Pisa in Italy without a proper ticket, finding herself lost in the Italian airport.
The elderly woman, who had just arrived in Copenhagen on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha, somehow managed to board a Ryanair flight to Pisa, which took off at 9:06 a.m. on September 9.
Her family, still in Copenhagen, were searching for her at the airport unaware that she had boarded the flight. Thankfully, when she landed in Pisa and was found walking around the airport, local authorities were notified and supported the woman.
Although the woman had passed through security screenings, the fact that she boarded without the correct boarding pass has raised concerns about airport procedures.
Lise Agerley Kürstein, head of corporate communication and media relations at Copenhagen Airport, told Newsweek: “We take this incident very seriously. It will be part of our ongoing efforts to adjust and tighten our guidelines to maintain safety. Following the recent incident, we have had follow-up discussions with the airline, and a number of procedures are now being tightened.”
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Kürstein made it clear that the passenger hadn’t intentionally snuck onto the flight, explaining that it was a failure at the gate. “An error occurred at the gate, allowing the passenger to board the wrong flight. It is the responsibility of the airlines and the handling companies to check passengers and their boarding passes before they board the aircraft,” she said.
A spokesperson for Ryanair told Newsweek: “This elderly passenger incorrectly boarded this flight from Copenhagen to Pisa after the gate agent at Copenhagen Airport failed to check her travel documentation during boarding. We are working with the handling agents in Copenhagen to ensure that this error does not recur.”
Fortunately, there was no immediate safety risk. “She was in transit, had gone through security, and her luggage had been screened. Therefore, she did not pose any security risk, nor was she in possession of any dangerous items,” Kürstein said. But the woman’s family were left concerned when they couldn’t find her in the airport.
Once in Pisa, local police were informed of the mistake and helped the woman, reuniting her with her family soon after.
This isn’t the first time such an incident has occurred. In 2018, an 80-year-old woman mistakenly flew 1,400 miles in the wrong direction on a United Airlines flight without the correct boarding pass.