Emirates is reported to be investigating how a woman flew 4,200 miles from Manchester to Delhi on her husband’s passport.
A relative of Geeta Modha said she “accidentally” picked up her partner Dilip’s passport when she set off on a business trip to India on April 23.
The family member said the “shocking” error was not spotted at check-in or on boarding the Emirates flight and Modha only realised at Delhi airport, according to the BBC.
Manchester airport said it was the airline’s responsibility to check identification.
Emirates said in a statement it works closely with its airport handlers to ensure “passport checks were taken very seriously” but “in this instance our usual high standards were not followed”.
The Dubai-based carrier added it was investigating the incident and would ensure a review of training for the staff involved.
Modha’s relative, who asked not to be identified, said the mistake was only discovered in Delhi when she tried to fill in an immigration form.
She was refused entry into India and had to return to Dubai on the next available flight, the relative said.
Modha was then “stranded” at Dubai airport overnight until Emirates could get her passport on the next flight from Manchester.
The businesswoman then had to book another flight to Delhi.
Her relative said: “It is shocking. She was very, very worried. Imagine getting all the way to [India] and realising you had used someone else’s passport.”