Enjoy Your Flight… Mister bin Laden: We expose airport security scandal with fake…

The News of the World [UK] ^ | January 18, 2004 | Graham McKendry

[quidnunc]

… boarding pass in name of terror chief

An executive breezed through security at three British airports with a fake boarding pass in the name of terror chief Osama bin Laden.

He mingled with passengers in the departure lounge —and could easily have planted a bomb in unattended hand baggage.

Each time, the ex-security boss proffered a forged British Airways card clearly showing the name of the world's most wanted man as he sailed through checks.

He was even told by one airport security worker who had the pass waved under his nose: "Have a nice flight, sir."

Once "airside" at Heathrow, Edinburgh and Glasgow, he was free to roam among thousands of passengers cleared to get on flights.

The executive proved any terrorist could fake such a pass in a European name, attempt to smuggle through explosives and have his pick of hand luggage to plant his bomb in.

Then he could melt away while a packed airliner takes off—and is blown out of the sky.

And authorities would have NO record of the killer's name because his pass was forged.

The ease of the 42-year-old businessman's operation to expose the appalling security was chilling.

Failed

He got flight numbers for the passes from the BA website. Then he created cards on his home computer and printed them on £4.99 paper from W H Smith.

-snip-

[quidnunc]

Ironically, the executive spotted the loophole as a way of getting access to duty-free SHOPPING.

He said: "It seemed that if I could get into the lounges and get out the other side I would be able to buy duty-free goods.

"The first time that I tried it worked. I then realised if I could do it so could a terrorist — and he would not be after fags."

[07055]

They were too busy strip searching white grandmothers to bother with Mr. Bin Laden. No profiling, we're British.

[Gritty]

he created cards on his home computer and printed them on £4.99 paper from W H Smith.

This guy is missing a golden opportunity.

He could make a fortune selling fake IDs to illegal immigrants undocumented workers in this country, thereby making them "documented".

If airline screeners don't know the difference, he can certainly get past the cursory checks of our employers and DMV clerks.

[bolobaby]

Looks like a white boy to me... hardly an Osama look-a-like.

Still, they should have caught him for having a fake name, arrested him of stupidity charges, and whipped his behind 40 times with a wet noodle.

[Choose Ye This Day]

Just damn!

[Zuben Elgenubi]

Hey squidnuts, this is not funny. I traveled from SFO to San Diego on Thursday and had to undress right down to the skivies. They should have sounded an alarm. EVERYone was running away from security. I found it amusing.

[Ex-Dem]

It is an appalling security lapse, but if AQ really wanted to do something, they probably wouldn't plant a plastic explosive in luggage and then leave. It's too small scale. Also, a plane going down in that fashion could be attributed to mechanical failure. Wouldn't give AQ the international attention that they desire.

[USF]

I flew out of Phoenix on tuesday and actually witnessed one passenger get caught with a small knife in his possession. Now, whats unusual about this is that he did not get caught at the first (normal) layer of security where your hand luggage is x-rayed and you go thru the airport metal detector....

It was a long distance flight and they set up a second layer of security right on the air bridge that takes you onto the plane where everybody was patted down and all hand luggage was physically searched, and this is where he was caught. Had it not been for this additional layer of security he would have got thru. I overheard the TSA people telling the guy who had the knife (who was detained at the side of the security check)that they were sending a report off to the FBI... and to my amazement, the guy actually made it onto the fight about half an hour later.

[coloradan]

Also, a plane going down in that fashion could be attributed to mechanical failure.

Sort of like TWA 800 was, even though well over a hundred people saw something race through the sky towards what eventually became the fireball of the destroyed aircraft? Nah, couldn't happen.

[Prodigal Son]

Rest of the article:

He got flight numbers for the passes from the BA website. Then he created cards on his home computer and printed them on £4.99 paper from W H Smith.

He said: "It is truly frightening. The passes I produced are good copies, but the name Bin Laden is clear for all to see. I was not challenged at any of the airports.

"Staff had my passport in one hand and the ticket in the other. But they still failed to see it did not add up. Passes are not checked thoroughly enough. This gives terrorists the ability to move in and out of supposedly secure areas in airports at will.

"Why get on a plane when you can plant a device on someone else? It only has to work once."

The News of the World witnessed the executive make a mockery of British airport security.

At HEATHROW Terminal One he had a home-made boarding card showing the passenger name of BIN/LADEN OSAMA MR.

The pass was for flight BA730 to the Swiss city of Geneva and due to depart at 15.50 on Friday.

The executive, who cannot be named, said: "I was amazed how easy it was to get past security at Heathrow. There was just one man inspecting the cards for the airside departures area.

"When I approached I held it in front of him. After a brief glance he waved me through. I offered to show him my passport but he said there was no need.

"It was a shambles. I was standing just yards from the British Airways check-in desk with a forged BA pass in the name of Bin Laden and he totally missed it. After that I breezed through the X-ray area and into the departure lounge.

"For an hour I sat and watched as bags were left unattended while people went to the loo or the shops.

"If I had been a terrorist, it would have been easy."

The undercover passenger had arrived in London that day from GLASGOW airport, where he had ignored the check-in desks and made straight for the departure gates.

He showed his dodgy pass for BA flight BA 1485 to London, which got a brief glance from the security man.

"Mr Bin Laden", booked into seat 19F, then spent 40 minutes by the departure gate before slipping out.

Shambolic

He went through security again with his real documents for another London flight.

The businessman said: "The security man who inspected my pass seemed more interested in the flight time than the name." The previous day in EDINBURGH, security was just as shambolic. The executive bypassed check-in and joined the departures queue.

Security failed to spot a Mr Bin Laden was booked into seat 19F on the 1.15pm flight BA1445 to London.

Our man next moved through the X-ray process and straight into the departure lounge, where he spent an hour watching passengers become separated from hand luggage.

Then he spirited himself away. He said: "It was shockingly easy. Despite the card clearly having a terrorist's name, no one twigged." Aviation security expert Chris Yates yesterday said the boarding card fiasco was a "dangerous loophole".

Mr Yates, of specialist publisher Jane's, said terrorists could definitely use it to get bomb parts into a departure lounge.

Squad

He said: "The News of the World has exposed a breach of security. Explosive devices could certainly be smuggled through existing checks."

Ex-Commander John O'Connor, former head of Scotland Yard's Flying Squad, said terrorists could get plastic explosive past airport security. He said: "X-ray machines and metal detectors will not pick up plastic explosive. If it was disguised, say in a Mars Bar packet, it would get through.

"It is a terrible flaw in our airports that people are not properly checked. We are in the middle of a security scare and yet these guards are complacent."

An airport security insider said: "It is appalling that a ticket with the name of Osama bin Laden cannot be spotted.

"The bottom line is that someone could have walked through, put a bomb in some hand luggage and left without anyone knowing he had ever been there.

"These mistakes could have planes literally dropping out of the sky. It is that serious."

Ironically, the executive spotted the loophole as a way of getting access to duty-free SHOPPING.

He said: "It seemed that if I could get into the lounges and get out the other side I would be able to buy duty-free goods.

"The first time that I tried it worked. I then realised if I could do it so could a terrorist — and he would not be after fags."