The former boss of Etihad Airways who led the Abu Dhabi-based airline to a record-breaking net loss of $1.87 billion in 2016 faces prosecution and a hefty fine by the UK’s Border Force after being accused of trying to skip mandatory hotel quarantine according to press reports. James Hogan, who holds dual British/Australian nationality, was caught after allegedly boasting about his plan that involved swapping passports so as to avoid detection.
The aviation executive who was at the helm of Etihad Airways between 2006 and 2017 now runs Knighthood Capital which is based in Switzerland and has offices in both London and Abu Dhabi. Hogan allegedly flew from Abu Dhabi to Geneva and then jumped on a plane to London just two days later but failed to declare where he had been.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been on the UK’s high risk ‘Red List’ since January and anyone returning home from the Persian Gulf country must quarantine in an approved government hotel for at least 10-days. Only British nationals and residents are allowed to travel from the UAE to the UK and returnees must pay £1,750 for their quarantine stay.
Hogan flew out to Abu Dhabi on March 10 according to sources cited by the Mail on Sunday. He left the UAE using his Australian passport on an Etihad Airways flight to Geneva which is not categorised as high risk.
But Hogan allegedly only spent two days in Switzerland before flying back to London on a British Airways flight. Once at Heathrow, Hogan reportedly used his British passport to avoid scrutiny over where he had been just days before and sources claim he may have lied on a mandatory ‘passenger locator form’ about his whereabouts in the days preceding his arrival.
Sources claim Hogan was only caught after a whistleblower reported him to British embassy officials in either Switzerland or the UAE when he boasted of his ploy to skip hotel quarantine.
Border Force officers were alerted and Hogan was swiftly taken into quarantine. He now faces the threat of a £10,000 fine and officials are said to be examining whether he skipped quarantine after a similar trip in February.
Hogan’s 11-year tenure at Etihad Airways came to an end after he lead a disastrous equity investment scheme that plunged the government-owned airline deep into the red. The carrier has since been trying to unpick many of Hogan’s strategy decisions as it navigates a path to profitability.
During his time at Etihad, Hogan was credited with transforming the carrier into one of the world’s most talked about airlines known for luxury and marked by a decade of rapid expansion.
