EasyJet has apologised for banning a passenger from flying after mistaking him for a convicted criminal.
Kieran Harris was informed via email the night before he was due to fly from Liverpool to Alicante that he couldn’t board the plane due to ‘previous disruptive behaviour’.
The email also said that Kieran, 21, from Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, had been issued with a ‘10-year no-fly sanction’, which expires in March 2031.
EasyJet had confused him with another Kieran Harris, who was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison for behaving aggressively and abusively on a flight in 2021.
As well as having the same name, the two Kierans also share the same date of birth.
EasyJet reportedly requested a picture of Kieran’s passport to confirm his identity and eventually lifted the accidental ban, just hours before he was due to catch his flight on 25 May.
The Manchester Evening News reports that Kieran, who had to take a day off work to sort out the mess, said: “We’d booked the holiday a month ago and we even checked in online over a week ago, so there has been so much time for them to contact us.”
He said he found out the news when his friend received an email at 6pm the night before the fight saying Kieran had a 10-year flight ban and had been removed from the booking.
“I was gutted. I couldn’t quite get my head around it. I wasn’t on the booking anymore, I didn’t have a seat on the flight, and there was no point in me even going to the airport.”
He added the ‘stressful’ experience has put him off flying with easyJet again.
An easyJet spokesperson said: “We are very sorry that Mr Harris was incorrectly advised he couldn’t fly with us.
“We made this decision in good faith as Mr Harris shared the same name and date of birth and was flying from the same UK region as a passenger we’d previously banned for a serious offence onboard.
“As soon as Mr Harris contacted us, we resolved the matter and, while he flew as originally planned, we understand the frustration this will have caused so our team will are in touch with him and will offer a gesture of goodwill in light of his experience.”
It’s not the first time Kieran has been mistaken for his namesake.
He said the Metropolitan Police stormed his house last year after confusing him for the other Kieran Harris. The Met told Travel Gossip it has since apologised.
On another occasion, the police turned up at Kieran’s family home to question him about a car accident, which he wasn’t involved in.
Kieran said: “I’m thinking of getting a name change if this continues to happen.”
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Kieran Harris was informed via email the night before he was due to fly from Liverpool to Alicante that he couldn’t board the plane due to ‘previous disruptive behaviour’.
The email also said that Kieran, 21, from Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, had been issued with a ‘10-year no-fly sanction’, which expires in March 2031.
EasyJet had confused him with another Kieran Harris, who was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison for behaving aggressively and abusively on a flight in 2021.
As well as having the same name, the two Kierans also share the same date of birth.
EasyJet reportedly requested a picture of Kieran’s passport to confirm his identity and eventually lifted the accidental ban, just hours before he was due to catch his flight on 25 May.
The Manchester Evening News reports that Kieran, who had to take a day off work to sort out the mess, said: “We’d booked the holiday a month ago and we even checked in online over a week ago, so there has been so much time for them to contact us.”
He said he found out the news when his friend received an email at 6pm the night before the fight saying Kieran had a 10-year flight ban and had been removed from the booking.
“I was gutted. I couldn’t quite get my head around it. I wasn’t on the booking anymore, I didn’t have a seat on the flight, and there was no point in me even going to the airport.”
He added the ‘stressful’ experience has put him off flying with easyJet again.
An easyJet spokesperson said: “We are very sorry that Mr Harris was incorrectly advised he couldn’t fly with us.
“We made this decision in good faith as Mr Harris shared the same name and date of birth and was flying from the same UK region as a passenger we’d previously banned for a serious offence onboard.
“As soon as Mr Harris contacted us, we resolved the matter and, while he flew as originally planned, we understand the frustration this will have caused so our team will are in touch with him and will offer a gesture of goodwill in light of his experience.”
It’s not the first time Kieran has been mistaken for his namesake.
He said the Metropolitan Police stormed his house last year after confusing him for the other Kieran Harris. The Met told Travel Gossip it has since apologised.
On another occasion, the police turned up at Kieran’s family home to question him about a car accident, which he wasn’t involved in.
Kieran said: “I’m thinking of getting a name change if this continues to happen.”
The post Passenger banned from flying with easyJet in case of mistaken identity appeared first on Travel Gossip.
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