Passenger reaches IIA boarding lounge without boarding pass

Report on entire incident submitted to relevant officials by a security service

ISLAMABAD: In a display of negligence by officials at the Islamabad International Airport (IIA), a passenger managed to reach the lounge on Sunday without obtaining a boarding pass and clearing immigration.

Sources at the airport said that a passenger is subject to multiple checks of their travel documents and luggage to obtain their boarding pass, getting their passport stamped (for international flights) before reaching the boarding lounge.

However, a passenger from Swabi bypassed all of the checks and managed to reach the lounge for gate A-5 where a flight bound for Dubai was boarding. He was only stopped when officials deployed at the gate asked the passenger to show his boarding pass for final checks to let him on to the aircraft.

When the man could not produce the boarding pass, he was denied access. As news of the passenger having reached the gate without a boarding pass or immigration clearance spread, it sent the immigration officials into a flurry. The passenger was sent to the briefing area where he was made to undergo the due process.

A report on the entire incident was submitted to the relevant officials by a security service. The report pointed to the negligence of the Airport Security Force (ASF) and Immigration officials in the matter and has suggested undertaking greater care in the future.