Originally Posted by Stripe

I think it's quite plausible that the Ugandan was totally innocent in all this. He missed his original connection and in the rebooking process an agent fat fingered something, printed the wrong BP, handed it to him and he went where he was told to go. The GA who missed the discrepancy needs to be reported and BA needs to follow up with some very direct "coaching". If this was an attempt at something more sinister, it was a pretty stupid one. The correct passenger will almost certainly show for the flight and then the jig is up.

Some years ago I went to board an AUS-DFW flight but inadvertently went to the gate for an AUS-LAX flight, had my BP scanned, and was allowed to board. I saw someone in my seat and then realized the seating arrangement was different than I was expecting. Then there was an announcement that referenced the flight to Los Angeles and I just made if off before they shut the door. I then went to the next gate and boarded my correct flight without incident. If my seat had been empty I would have had an unscheduled detour.