British tennis player flying to Lithuania mistakenly told he had been deported and escorted from plane
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By KRISTINA WEMYSS, GENERAL NEWS REPORTER
Published: | Updated:
A British tennis player flying to Lithuania for a competition was mistakenly told he had been deported and was escorted from the plane.
Stuart Burden, 48, was wearing his team’s tracksuit with a Union Jack and ‘GB’ displayed on it when he boarded the Wizz Air flight at Luton airport.
He took his seat - which had been paid for and had extra leg room - but an air hostess moved him to the back of the plane with no explanation.
When he landed in Vilnius, a security official came on board and branded him a ‘deportee from the UK’.
Stunned, the semi-professional was marched from the aircraft in front of hundreds of passengers and taken for questioning, despite showing his UK passport.
‘I was wearing a Union Jack - you couldn’t make it up,’ he told the Daily Mail.
‘I thought it was a joke at first. He told me I had been deported and that I had to go with him.’
Mr Burden, a father from London, had been travelling to the Lithuanian capital on August 23 as a hitter for visually impaired players taking part in the World Blind Tennis Championships.
Stuart Burden, 48, was wearing his team's tracksuit, which features a Union Jack, when he was accused of being a Lithuanian deportee sent back from the UK
He was travelling to Vilnius last month as a hitter for visually impaired players taking part in the World Blind Tennis Championships
Flying with a suitcase full of rackets, he tried to plead his case with the security, but to no avail.
‘I told him I was a tennis player and that my team were also on board. He didn’t accept that.
‘I was escorted across the tarmac to a police wagon and taken for questioning.
‘On the way there, an officer said: “Are you being deported?” I couldn’t believe it, I said: “Are you asking me?”
‘At Customs, I looked to my right and saw cells. It’s quite funny now, but it wasn’t at the time.’
Mr Burden’s team - who were still on board - asked cabin crew where he was. It was only then that they realised there had been a mistake.
The tennis player, who also works as a supervisor for an air conditioning company, was then marched out of the airport by an official who ‘disappeared’ with no apology.
Now back in the UK, he points out that the error could have led to a real deportee being set free in Lithuania. The Home Office declined to comment when asked about this.
Mr Burden, said: ‘Someone along the way must have made a big mistake. And it took time during questioning for them to realise.
‘Whoever they thought I was may have been on board - and if they were a legal deportee, maybe they got away scot free.
‘It was beyond a joke. I’ve never been so embarrassed in all my life.’
A spokesman for Wizz Air said: ‘We are extremely sorry to hear of the experience of a passenger travelling from London Luton to Vilnius and we are working with the relevant authorities to establish the full circumstances of the incident.
‘The safety and wellbeing of our passengers and crew are our highest priority, and our crew cooperated fully with the relevant authorities.’
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