Former Scottish leader Alex Salmond found himself in a tricky situation at Heathrow Airport when he was refused permission to board a flight he had booked under the name James Kirk – the captain of Star Trek’s USS Enterprise.
The former Scottish first minister caused confusion when he presented a ticket bearing the sci-fi alias, which did not match the name on his passport.
According to The Mail on Sunday, it took a series of telephone calls for the senior politician to persuade British Airways staff to let him on board.
The unusual stand-off took place over the summer when Mr Salmond tried to fly back to Scotland after a week at the Commons, but has only just come to light.
Mr Salmond told the Mail on Sunday: “It was all sorted out. I just wanted BA to ‘beam me up, Scotty’.”
The politician indicated that in future he would be travelling under a different name.
He said: “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."
Salmond, who is a well-known Star Trek fan - or Trekkie, said he often travelled under a false name for security reasons and liked to use Kirk’s name, partly as a joke but also because it was easy to remember.
The confusion arose in part because he usually travels from Gatwick or London City airports, where officials are reportedly aware of the arrangement.
