In March I flew on an Austrian Airlines flight from Vienna to Brussels. I checked in online and went through passport control and all the security checks before boarding. Two days later I tried to check in online for my return flight, but couldn’t. At the airport I was told my reservation had been cancelled as I had missed the outbound flight, so they had removed my name from the return passenger list. I was forced to buy a new ticket back to Vienna.
Austrian Airlines don’t seem interested in finding out what happened and insist the mystery is a one off, but for a passenger to be able to cross Europe undocumented surely raises security issues. DI, Vienna
How you managed to fly between two high-security airports without leaving a trace is a mystery that should alarm security officials. Austrian Airlines refuses my request for a comment, but tells Austrian newspaper Die Presse that it can only assume your boarding pass did not scan properly at the departure gate and your name was therefore removed from the passenger list 10 minutes before take off. It insists it is a unique experience and that, although you and your luggage flew invisibly, security wasn’t compromised.
It has since offered to refund the cost of the replacement ticket.
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