EasyJet passenger put on no-fly list because of his name

An easyJet passenger who had the same name as a banned passenger was stopped from flying. Photo / 123rf

This article was one of Herald Travel’s best-read stories of 2023

A passenger claimed he was wrongfully blacklisted by easyJet because he shares the same name as another passenger who was banned for disruptive behaviour.

Kieran Harris, 21, told UK media he discovered the issue after booking a flight from Liverpool to Alicante in April.

The flight was meant to depart on May 25 but on May 24, he told the Mirror he received an email stating he could not board the flight, or any other easyJet flight.

The reason? He was under a “10-year no-fly sanction” due to “previous disruptive behaviour”. The airline’s ban was not due to expire until March 2031.

Harris was removed from his friends’ booking the evening before he was due to depart.

“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 said.

The issue was, Harris believes he’s been mistaken for another Kieran Harris, one who doesn’t only share a name but a birth date too. Unfortunately, this Harris was drunken and unruly on an easyJet flight in 2021, resulting in a 12-week prison sentence and a 10-year ban from the airline.

After confirming his identity, the airline removed the accidental ban and Harris made his flight. However, Harris said the stressful experience means he wouldn’t fly with the airline again. Since he booked a month in advance, he said the airline had plenty of time to get in touch about the issue.

An easyJet spokesperson apologised for the incorrect communication and said they would be arranging a “gesture of goodwill”.

“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,” they said in a statement.

This is not the first time Harris has suffered the consequences of his name twin’s actions.

He said he has considered changing his name to avoid the flight ban and other issues he’s experienced due to having a name that flags the authorities.

The graduate claims Metropolitan Police entered his home in 2022 under the assumption he was the “other Harris” and has shown up to his family home to question him about a serious car accident he knew nothing about.

Harris said the mix-ups have been “so frustrating” and if they continue to happen he would change his name.

This article was originally published on June 12, 2023