AN easyJet security blunder saw a Brit holidaymaker jet off to the wrong continent after boarding a flight to Turkey instead of Tunisia.
Mark Jenkins, 45, was taken 2,000 miles off-course after clueless staff at Manchester Airport waved him on.
Remarkably, he then missed the flight announcements after sticking on noise-cancelling headphones and by chance his seat was empty as the aircraft was only half-full.
It was over four hours later when Mark heard the captain’s announcement “Welcome to Antalya” that he discovered he would not be touching down into North Africa’s Enfidha, on the other side of the Mediterranean.
Flustered airline staff scrambled to make amends, keeping Mark on the plane for 40 minutes before flying him back to Manchester.
Once back in the UK, he got a “red carpet treatment” with a night in a Holiday Inn before being sent on his way to Tunisia the next day.
Mark, who flew out for a week-long all-inclusive solo trip on November 27, said: “It’s crazy that this can happen.
“I went to the wrong gate and when I arrived, passengers were already boarding.
“At that point I wasn’t really paying attention and staff scanned my pass.
“But it didn’t scan properly and so they went on the computer for a second, before waving me through.
“The plane wasn’t full and by chance my seat was empty, and I put in my noise cancelling headphones for the whole journey.
“I got the shock of my life when I heard them say ‘welcome to Antalya’, but I told myself they wouldn’t have let me board the wrong flight.
“The crew were as shocked as me when they realised what had happened.
“I wasn’t allowed to disembark the plane in Turkey as I suppose technically I was a stowaway.”
Mark was flown to Enfidha the following day, losing around one and a half days of his trip.
He was offered just £150 as compensation from easyJet, as well as a £15 voucher for his evening meal at the Holiday Inn.
Mark added: “It’s worrying in terms of security. I don’t know how it can happen in this day and age.
“I must say though that the easyJet cabin crew were absolutely incredible.
“They went above and beyond to sort it out and were so apologetic.
“We did end up having a laugh about it.
They told me I was famous at easyJet and this sort of thing has never happened before.
“It was my first solo trip and it certainly does make a good story!”
Mark’s brother said: “It’s a shocking failure of security. He could’ve ended up in Turkey illegally.
“What if this was exploited by terrorists? If this can happen to my brother then how often does it happen?”
An easyJet spokesman said: “easyJet works closely with all of our airports to ensure the safety of all passengers.
“We are investigating with the airport and our ground handling partner at Manchester how Mr Jenkins was able to travel on the wrong flight.
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“We ensured Mr Jenkins was able to stay onboard and fly back to Manchester where we provided him with hotel accommodation and meals and booked a flight for him to Tunisia the following day, free of charge.
“We have been in contact with him to apologise for the inconvenience caused and have provided him with a gesture of goodwill in light of his experience.”
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