A pilot for Brussels Airlines has been arrested after he allegedly attempted to use a so-called ‘fantasy’ passport to get through immigration checks at Brussels-Zaventem International Airport, prosecutors have revealed.
The incident happened earlier this summer, although it has only just come to light after Ingrid Moriau of the Halle-Vilvoorde prosecutor’s office explained the case to local news outlets.
The pilot was due to work on an international flight leaving Brussels and was subject to a standard passport check by immigration officers. When asked to present his passport, he allegedly handed over a document that looked like a genuine passport but was, in fact, counterfeit.
Prosecutors have described the document as a ‘fantasy’ passport because they are often made to make a political statement rather than to illegally get into a country because the person doesn’t have a valid visa.
Unsurprisingly, the pilot has already been terminated by Brussels Airlines.
Why the pilot decided to use a fraudulent passport to evade routine immigration checks remains a mystery, although local media report that Belgium aircrews have recently become upset at strict new border controls.
In many countries, pilots and flight attendants get to bypass lengthy immigration checks and won’t have their passports stamped to show they are entering or leaving a country.
In some cases, this is possible because international aircrews enter a country on a document known as a ‘general declaration,’ which acts as a record of them working for an airline and entering a country for only a short period for work purposes.
In other cases, immigration authorities simply have a much more relaxed attitude towards aircrews and assume that their documents are going to be in order because they work for an international airline.
The penalties for having incorrect documentation can also vary greatly from country to country. Pilots and flight attendants who forget to pack their passports can sometimes escape any form of punishment, but in places like the United Arab Emirates, they’ll be deported on the next flight home, just like a passenger who was allowed to board a flight without their passport.
