Woman flies on husband’s passport

AIRPORT staff are supposed to check the picture on your passport looks like you. But that didn’t stop a woman flying unchallenged from Manchester to India using her husband’s documents.

Geeta Modha, 55, accidentally picked up Dilip’s passport while rushing to get to the terminal for a business trip. She showed it at check-in and again before boarding the Emirates plane – and was able to sail through customs.

During a stop-off in Dubai, Mrs Modha didn’t have to show her passport because she has an Overseas Citizenship of India card so the error was only picked up at Delhi, where she noticed her blunder while filling out an immigration form.

Mrs Modha, from Stockport, said: ‘It’s scary and worrying that people aren’t checking properly. At check-in, the staff member even made me move stuff from one bag to another because it was 2kg over – and yet let me travel with the wrong passport.’

Officials made Mrs Modha travel back to Dubai to wait for her own passport, which was flown to her by Emirates. The frequent flyer, who runs a bridal boutique, said she was now worried about security at Manchester Airport. She said: ‘They only looked at my surname – not at my first name or the picture. If I got through who else could get through?’

Manchester Airport said it is the responsibility of airline staff to ensure passports are checked.

A spokesman for Emirates said: ‘In this instance our usual high standards were not followed and we would like to apologise to Mrs Modha.’