Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
YOU HEAD CASES
Drunks pose as luggage to trigger an airport alert
TWO drunks caused a major alert at an international airport by “pretending to be suitcases”.
The Geordie duo called into Newcastle airport for a late-night snack and decided to go through check-in. But they did so by crawling under the counter, where luggage is normally sent air-side, and along the baggage chute. They then followed the black rubber conveyor belt behind the check-in desks. The baggage belt would have taken them under the passport hall initially and around the ground floor, beneath the security checks area and duty-free first floor. They got as far as the departure area – which has cafes, restaurants and shops beyond the passport control and ticket checks – where they were stopped and detained by security personnel. The pair were spotted on CCTV somewhere on their journey as luggage. An airport source said: “They basically got all the way through to air-side by pretending to be suitcases. They got down on their hands and knees to get through check-in then followed the conveyor belt. “That takes cases through from the front check-in area to where baggage handlers collect and load air-side.” The source explained that there was “a lot of airport workers around” at the time, however the incident last Thursday evening still “amounts to a security breach”. Newcastle airport serves a variety of holiday destinations and has late flights, including night services to Spain, the Canary Islands and London, as well as long-hauls to Dubai. An airport spokesman said: ‘We can confirm two males were seen riding on an empty section of the baggage belts. “The police and airport security were quickly dispatched while the control room monitored the offenders on CCTV. The two men were intercepted, taken into custody and charged under the Aviation Act. “We take the safety and security of passengers very seriously and, while this incident appears to have had no malicious intent, behaviour such as this will not be tolerated.”