Passengers put on flight to Stornoway instead of Sumburgh

Shetland may have been innocently confused with the Western Isles in the past by some, but a blunder by staff at Edinburgh Airport last week proved costly for two businessmen.

The Norwegian fishing bosses had been intending to fly from the capital to Sumburgh Airport, but were instead directed onboard a Loganair plane to Stornoway – despite not being on that plane’s passenger list.

Two of the airline’s workers were suspended after it was revealed a head count had failed to spot the men, who did not have valid boarding passes. An investigation into the incident has since been launched.

A spokesman for Loganair said: “We can confirm that two passengers travelled on the wrong aircraft and flew to Stornoway instead of their intended destination of Sumburgh. They returned to Edinburgh and continued their journey once the error became apparent.

“The staff members concerned in the incident have been suspended from duty pending the outcome of a full investigation, and Loganair offers its sincere apologies to the two customers concerned for the inconvenience arising from this incident.”