Migrants appear in court charged with entering Scottish airport illegally
- Rory Cassidy
- Jul 2
- 2 min read
Two migrants have been charged with entering a Scottish airport illegally - by blagging their way through with just one boarding pass.
Ahmed Ghanem and Osamah Saad Saad Al Saawani are alleged to have broken the law at Glasgow International Airport.
Their lawyer told a court that they were a blundering duo who had acted like something out of a Hollywood comedy.
Prosecutors claim that the pair committed an offence at the Airport, in Paisley, Renfrewshire, on May 5 this year.
Ghanem, 26, and Al Saawani, 36, appeared in the dock at Paisley Sheriff Court on Tuesday in connection with the case.
They are charged with breaching Section 21C(1)(a) of the Aviation Security Act 1982.
It is not known what nationality the men are.
The charge states that they "did without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, enter a restricted zone namely Security Search Area and International departure lounge".
It adds they "did while working together, wait for security staff members to be distracted and enter through the Egate readers using 1 valid boarding pass between you".
Ghanem, of the Travelodge Hotel in Marchburn Drive, Paisley, and Al Saawani, of Maryhill, Glasgow, were aided by an Arabic interpreter in court.
Defence solicitor Mark Johnstone said: "This seems a bit like something out of a movie in the '90s.
"One of them does not speak very good English and the intention was to assist him through the airport and see him off.
"That was the intention, basically."
Sheriff Sukhwinder Gill was told the accused's lawyers were still waiting on evidence being disclosed to them by prosecutors.
The court heard that witness statements and body worn video footage had been disclosed, but that CCTV from the airport had not.
Sheriff Gill continued the case without plea until later this month for the airport CCTV footage to be disclosed.
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