A MAJOR security investigation has been launched after an incredible series of blunders allowed a man to fly from the UK to New York without a passport or boarding pass.
Home Secretary James Cleverly “demanded answers” after a passenger boarded a British Airways flight from Heathrow without any documentation.
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A major investigation is underway after a man flew from Heathrow to New York without a passport or ticket. Credit: Getty
The stunning security lapse was said to have been deemed “impossible post 9/11” and left the bosses of Border Force, Heathrow Airport and BA sweating over the fallout.
A source told The Sun last night: “The man could have carried anything with him. It is hard to believe that this could happen in the age of high-tech, anti-terrorist airport surveillance.”
The Sun has learned that unemployed Craig Sturt, 46, turned up at the UK’s biggest airport on December 23 last year and avoided check-in, heading straight to the boarding pass security gate at Terminal 5.
Incredibly, despite the building being full of police and airport agents, he made it through the automatic doors behind the other passenger in front of him.
He was then taken through a series of security checkpoints and passport control, without showing any papers.
Every time, he simply ‘grabbed’ the passenger in front of him.
Mr Sturt was then able to board a bus at the gate to leave for BA along with hundreds of other passengers flying to the US for Christmas.
Despite not having a boarding pass, he was given a warm welcome on the British Airways jumbo plane and treated to free food and drink during the long flight.
The plane was full, but various passengers missed their connection at Heathrow, meaning there were empty seats.
About nine hours later, after landing at JFK Airport in the Big Apple, Mr Sturt was finally approached by confused US officials when he could not produce any identification.
I’m a Ryanair cabin crew member and this is exactly what we do when passengers board the plane – it’s the easiest role of the day
Armed US officers arrested him on Christmas Eve and escorted him back to the UK to be dealt with by the authorities there.
He was caught at 8pm on Christmas Day, suspected of committing a series of air traffic offences, after landing at Heathrow on a flight from New York.
But last night it emerged that in further humiliation for British police, Mr Sturt was then the subject of an ‘urgent missing person appeal’.
A warrant was issued for him on January 22.
Thames Valley Police was forced to issue an alert on January 30, with a photo of the fugitive.
It read: “Urgent appeal for a missing person.” Can you please help us find Craig? The 46-year-old is 6ft tall, slim, with short dark brown hair.
“When he was last seen, he was wearing a gray jacket, top, black shorts and white sneakers.
“Craig was last seen in Reading but is from Slough and also has links to Heathrow and Tottenham Court Road in London. If you see Craig, do not approach him, call 999 instead.”
Mr. Sturt was charged with obtaining favors by fraud; Being unlawfully in the airspace; He boarded the aircraft without permission and was remanded to appear at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court.
But last night he was still on the run.
The suspect’s brother and next of kin, Lee Smith, 52, told The Sun on Sunday that his family had been devastated by the ordeal.
The father-of-three said: “I don’t know how Craig managed to avoid security at the UK’s biggest airport and fly to America without a passport or a ticket.
‘Heads will roll’
“It’s ridiculous that this can happen. If Craig, with his troubled past, could evade insurance, then presumably anyone else with sinister motives could do the same. Heads should roll. How was this allowed to happen?”
Decorator Mr Smith, from Langley, near Slough, Berks, told how he was shocked to discover his brother’s illegal long-haul flight.
He said: “The police called and said ‘Your brother has been arrested by the NYPD’. When the cops called, MTV was on and Sting’s ‘Englishman In New York’ was playing. It was surreal.
“I thought that couldn’t be right. He doesn’t even have a passport.
“They said, ‘They just caught him walking down the runway at JFK Airport in New York.’
“I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I have no idea how he managed to pull it off. I know it’s a serious problem.”
Mr Sturt was flown back to London on a charter flight and into the hands of the Met Police.
It is understood he was separated and taken to the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, Berks.
Since his escape, a national search has been launched for him.
He was pictured on CCTV withdrawing £200 in cash on Tottenham Court Road in London.
Breaking into security-sensitive areas at Heathrow without a passport or flight ticket is “unheard of” in today’s era of high-tech anti-terrorist surveillance.
The Sun understands that James Cleverly is insisting on getting to the bottom of the “humiliating fiasco”.
A source said: “Heads will roll. It’s amazing that this could happen. It’s not worth thinking about what might have happened if the terrorist had successfully boarded the flight undetected.
“This is a great shame for Heathrow and the Border Force, what is happening at our main airport. BA is not a great look either – the staff were just careless and didn’t do their job.
“U.S. officials are furious and are demanding to know how this could have happened. It wasn’t a brazen plot to evade an elaborate security system, he simply ‘unhooked’ the passenger ahead of him in line at every checkpoint.”
Tragically, there have been cases of desperate stowaways breaking through airport security to hide in the wheel arches of planes – only to fall to their deaths on final approach to land in the UK.
This is a great shame for Heathrow and the border force
Oftentimes, rogue passengers will freeze to death in flight before hitting the ground.
A stowaway fell from the landing gear of a Kenya Airways plane on approach to Heathrow in 2019 and was found dead in a garden after landing “one meter” from the sundeck.
A man’s body was found in Clapham, south London.
The body was “so intact” because it was “a block of ice.”
Last night, a Heathrow spokesman said: “All people going into the airspace are subject to security screening, including the individual involved in this case. We are supporting the authorities in their ongoing investigation.”
A spokesman for New Scotland Yard – also now in charge of the search for Mr Sturt – told The Sun: “Police were alerted to an alleged breach of security at Heathrow Airport on 24 December 2023 and a man was subsequently arrested and later charged with Offenses on fraud and air traffic safety.
“We continue to work with all our partners to review and improve our already strong security measures, which are constantly monitored by the wider security partnership.”
British Airways said: “We are assisting the authorities with their investigation.”
The Home Office and the Department for Transport have been contacted for comment.
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