Former FM Pretends to Be Star Trek Captain, BA Unamused

A former Scottish first minister booked a flight under the alias James Kirk and was initially denied boarding.

Former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond ran into boarding issues this summer at London Heathrow Airport (LHR) when he booked his ticket under the alias James Kirk. British Airways officials refused to let him board at first, but Salmond was eventually allowed on the flight. Salmond is a self-proclaimed trekkie and usually travels under an alias for security purposes.

The Mail on Sunday initially broke the story when Salmond attempted to fly back to Scotland from Britain’s House of Commons and had to make a series of phone calls to convince staff he could get on the flight. The confusion reportedly only lasted a few moments.

“Salmond arrived at the check-in desk, presented a ticket with the name James T. Kirk on it, then handed over his passport with his real name on it,” said an anonymous source. “Unsurprisingly, the woman on the desk refused to check him in. As the queue built up and other staff members came over, Mr. Salmond made calls to arrange for emails to be sent to him, which he showed to BA, backing up his story. Eventually they let him on the plane.”

Salmond is such a Star Trek fan that the show’s fan club gave him a membership of distinction and promoted him to an honorary Starfleet officer.

“It was all sorted out. I just wanted BA to ‘beam me up, Scotty,’” Salmond explained. “Now that my cover has been blown by the Mail on Sunday, I will choose another Star Trek character — but not Mr. Spock because that would be illogical.”

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