From Australia to New Zealand via Beijing

2.00 pm - By ELAINE FISHER

Two Katikati men ended up flying halfway round the world and being watched over by armed guards when they boarded the wrong plane on their way home from a trip to Australia and landed in China.

Mark Dance and Alfie O'Neill are now safely back in Katikati. Their fleeting association with Chinese border guards at Beijing International Airport last weekend has confirmed for them there's no place quite like home.

The drama began when Mr Dance, a nurse, and Mr O'Neill, the intellectually disabled man for whom Mr Dance has cared for more than 10 years, answered the call to board their flight from Sydney to Auckland at the end of a six month stay in Australia.

"There are two airlines with very similar names. China Airlines is the Taiwanese airline we were booked on and China National Airways is the Communist China airline, which was leaving at the same time as our flight to New Zealand," said Mr Dance.

The pair boarded the flight to Beijing by mistake, after their boarding pass was rejected by a machine which an attendant said was faulty.

"She just waved us through so we got on board. I wondered why there were so many Chinese flying to Auckland but it wasn't until about half an hour after take-off and 37,000 feet in the air that I realised we were on the wrong plane."

Mr Dance tried to tell a flight attendant he should be going to Auckland but her English was limited. Eventually the message got through.

"She went deathly white and rushed to the front of the aircraft. When we landed we were told to stay in our seats until everyone else was off, then we had to walk down a steep flight of steps to be met by guards who took us into the terminal."

There, Mr Dance again explained his story to an official who had a slightly better grasp of English.

"They kept us waiting on hard chairs in the lounge, away from everyone else. They took our passports and I was getting really worried. I had $100 in cash and my Visa card but no idea how to use the airport phones or who to ring. I think I would have called the New Zealand Embassy if things had got worse . . .

"I was really nervous. They treated us well but we were surrounded by guards who didn't take their eyes off us. I thought, what if they believe we are spies - what do I do?"

After about an hour of tense waiting, officials returned to say the two men could leave on a plane to Sydney in half an hour.

"I was so relieved, I asked if I could get a drink."

It cost Mr Dance $NZ23 for Mr O'Neill's coke and a much needed brandy for himself.

"I didn't have time to buy souvenirs. We did get our passports stamped with Beijing but we were only there for an hour an a half."

Nine hours later Mr Dance and Mr O'Neill arrived back in Sydney to be greeted by officials from the Chinese and Taiwanese airlines and from Qantas.

"The Qantas people were absolutely superb. They sorted everything out and offered a night's accommodation in Sydney but by then I just wanted to go home."

The pair were treated to free first-class seats and all the food, drink and service that went with it, on the next Qantas flight to New Zealand.

When they arrived in Auckland, 24 hours later than planned, a corporate car with chauffeur was waiting to drive them home to Katikati.

"It is so nice to be home. I never thought anything like this would happen to me. It was all very exhausting."

Mr Dance, who is an Australian registered nurse, had travelled home for medical treatment, unwilling to face lengthy waiting lists in New Zealand. He couldn't find suitable accommodation for Mr O'Neill, so took him along.

However, he is now planning another trip to Australia for follow-up therapy and, besides making sure he catches the right flight, he also has the worry of finding somewhere for his charge to stay for five weeks.

A series of mistakes and strange coincidences led Mr Dance and Mr O'Neill to board the wrong flight in Sydney on Saturday.

Those mistakes could result in China National Airways facing a heavy fine from the Chinese Government because airlines that carry passengers without appropriate documentation and visas can face significant fines from the countries in which they arrive.

Mr Dance and Mr O'Neill could also have been fined had they intentionally boarded the wrong plane. But boarding for their China Airlines flight and the flight of China National Airways to Beijing were called at the same time and the pair reported to the wrong gate.

An Australian flight service ground crew inserted their boarding pass into a machine but when it was rejected the attendant said the machine was faulty and waved them through to the aircraft leaving for Beijing.

By a strange coincidence, they were shown to seats with the same numbers as their boarding pass and settled back for a three hour trip to Auckland. Instead, nine hours later, they touched down in Beijing.

Karla Magnus, of Harvey World Travel in Katikati, said that in eight years in the industry she had never heard of people being carried on the wrong plane.

"People's flights get diverted but people just don't end up on the wrong plane. Security is so tight it should never happen," she said.

China National Airways does not operate an office in New Zealand and no-one was available to comment at the Auckland office of China Airlines.

It is understood the flight they should have been on was delayed while repeated calls were made for them in the Sydney terminal.

Eventually the pair's five suitcases were unloaded, because airlines will not carry unaccompanied baggage, and the plane left for Auckland without them.

- BAY OF PLENTY TIMES