Aviation Minister Praful Patel stopped at Chicago airport.

Mtoday news

New Delhi, Sept 29:  The Secretary of US Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, has apologised to Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel for the confusion over his identity at Chicago airport.

She said the US will do whatever was required to make necessary amends to prevent any such incidents in future.

 

Patel, who was on an official trip to attend the International Air Transport Association (IATA) annual general meeting at Montreal in Canada, was stopped at the Chicago airport by the US authorities on Monday after some confusion over his identity.

According to sources, Patel’s name and profile matched with another person the US authorities were looking for.



The matter was resolved after the Indian Embassy officials intervened, sources said.

Praful Patel downplayed the matter saying nothing serious happened; the US authorities had some confusion.

In a statement, Patel said: "Nothing serious happened so please don’t sensationalise. There is a person with a similar name and birth date, that’s why they just double checked."