A man "barged" past airline staff at a gate in Dublin Airport as he boarded a plane without a passport or a boarding pass, Aer Lingus has claimed.
The man reportedly made it through security of Terminal 2 without a passport before the incident at the gate on Monday night. Airport Police removed him from the plane and detained him before he was arrested by gardai.
He was then charged with trespassing with intent to commit an offence and with failure to produce a valid passport or similar document as a non-national in the State, the Irish Independent reported.
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The man in his 40s was fined €700 for the two charges. He appeared before the Criminal Courts of Justice on Tuesday morning. The security breach follows reports of a whistleblower alleging the airport's security screening is "not fit for purpose'.
An Aer Lingus spokeswoman told Dublin Live: "The individual in question barged past Aer Lingus boarding agents at the gate and crew at the door of the aircraft and took a seat on board. Airport Police were immediately alerted by Aer Lingus staff and the individual was promptly detained and removed from the aircraft."
Dublin Airport is subject to international, European and national security standards. Inspections and testing of security measures at the airport are carried out by the Irish Aviation Authority in line with EU regulations.
A daa spokesman said: "We never comment on security matters for obvious reasons. We note the speedy apprehension of the individual in this case by Airport Police, who was caught trespassing without a boarding card after being security screened, and his subsequent arrest by An Garda Siochana and successful prosecution before the courts.
"As with any such incident an internal review is underway.”
A garda spokesman confirmed the man was arrested and that he was due before the Criminal Courts of Justice on Tuesday.
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