Scotland's former First Minister found himself in a bizarre stand-off with airline staff after booking a flight ticket under the name Star Trek's Captain James T Kirk.
Alex Salmond faced embarrassment when British Airways refused to let him board a flight at Heathrow under the sci-fi alias.
The Mail on Sunday reports it took a series of phone calls for the senior politician to persuade the airline that he should be allowed on board.
For security reasons, Salmond often traveled under an alias, and chose the name of the starship USS Enterprise captain as it was easy to remember.
The arrangement was known by airline staff, but not at Heathrow, as he usually flew from other airports in London.
Salmond is a self-described Star Trek "obsessive" and received a distinction from the show's fan club.
Speaking to the paper, he said: “It was all sorted out. I just wanted BA to ‘beam me up, Scotty’.”
“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,” he added.
The incident occurred during the Summer when he was returning to Scotland following a debate in the House of Commons.
