In a detailed analysis of the antecedents of the two passengers who boarded the ill fated MH70 with stolen passports, the Financial Times found that the duo may have been aiming to illegally emigrate to Europe and may have been on the Malaysia Airlines flight by a quirk of ticketing.
The report quoted Benjaporn Krutnait, the travel agent who had booked the two tickets as saying that an Iranian contact, 'Mr Ali' had asked for the tickets to be booked on the cheapest route possible. She had attempted to book the duo on two other airlines initially.
But the tickets expired when Ms Benjaporn did not hear back from Mr Ali. When he contacted her again on Thursday, she rebooked the men on the Malaysia Airlines flight through Beijing because it was the cheapest available. Ms Benjaporn booked the tickets through China Southern Airlines via a code share arrangement.
She said that she had been booking tickets for the Iranian contact for almost three years on an average of once a month and there was no evidence to suggest 'Mr Ali' knew they had stolen passports.