Portugal’s border control force, the SEF, "will look into" an alleged security breach at Faro airport that allowed a British traveller to fly home using his brother’s passport.
Steve Wilson accidentally picked up his brother Carl's passport and passed through a number of identity checks at Faro airport and at Liverpool’s John Lennon airport on his return.
The SEF said it had not been formally contacted but will look into the allegation to see how this slip up happened.
The two brothers and two friends were on a golfing holiday in the Algarve when one of them had to return to the UK earlier than planned and by mistake picked up his brother’s passport in the hotel room.
The brothers looked nothing like each other and the name in the passport was of course different to the name on the easyJet boarding pass.
After the Paris and Brussels bombings, Portugal decided to maintain the same level of security as before while many European border control authorities boosted staff numbers and vigilance.
Portugal’s border control authority stated, "The SEF emphasises the rigour with which border control is carried out in compliance with the legislation in force and in providing security." Not rigourous enough it seems.
Mrs Wilson spotted the mistake when her husband returned home and contacted the Britsh Border Force to point out the security laspe at a time when the public needs to be assured that full checks are being made on every passenger.
