Airplane passengers and a pilot were left confused after different passenger number counts troubled a flight departing from Manchester.
An easyJet plane bound for Tenerife was due to leave Manchester Airport just after 1pm on Saturday afternoon, but was forced to be delayed after a pilot raised concerns upon receiving two entirely different headcounts.
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The pilot reported to passengers over the tannoy that there were 132 people on board, but only 125 people had been ‘scanned onto the aircraft’ at the gate, raising alarm bells that several passengers had made it onto the plane without ticket or passport checks before boarding.
The pilot instructed all passengers to leave the plane, taking their belongings with them, as staff would have to recount them all back onto the plane.
Cabin crew would also have to do another sweep of the aircraft for ‘security’ reasons, the pilot told passengers.
Passengers were asked to make sure that gate staff scanned them and checked their passports again.
The passengers re-boarded the plane and the flight took off.
It is understood that any passengers who made it as far as the gate would have been through security checks and screening, with the error appearing to arise during the boarding process.
A spokesperson for the airline said: “easyJet can confirm that the flight EZY1903 Manchester to Tenerife South was delayed whilst additional checks were carried out prior to departure in line with procedure. Once complete all passengers reboarded and the aircraft departed for Tenerife South.
“We apologise for the delay and for the inconvenience caused.
“The safety and well-being of our passengers and crew is always easyJet’s number one priority.”
The Manchester Evening News also understands there is an internal investigation as to how and why the error occurred.
