Twins Reveal Outcome of Swapping Passports at Airport Security: 'Risky'

Two identical twins from London, William and Henry Wade (collectively known online as The Wade Twins), have gone viral after sharing a video of an experiment where they switched passports at airport security.

In the video, which was shared on Instagram last Monday and already has over 192,400 likes, the pair can be seen switching their passports before going through automated passport controls. The machines let them both in without any issues.

Since 9/11 security protocols at American airports have increased drastically. A recent survey by YouGov found 41 percent of people who have gone through airport security in the past 5 years said the experience was somewhat, inconvenient, while 18 percent found it very inconvenient.

Some 45 percent of domestic passengers said they now arrive at the airport at least 90 minutes before the scheduled departure time. But despite the inconvenience, 79 percent of Americans said that airports should still prioritize screening for security threats over saving travelers time and money.

About 12 percent of Americans believe that airport security wouldn't be able to stop criminals from smuggling weapons on the plane, compared to 37 percent of respondents said they believe it is very likely that airport security would stop the person.

Users on Instagram were divided over the passport stunt. While some thought that it was a risky move, others thought it might have also been a bluff. One user, bethmitchler, said: "That's pretty risky."

And Ssakii11 commented: "It was probably swapped [at] the start of the video and then they "pretended to swap" and got their own passports and went through."

Another user, Immy said: "No but what were u gonna do if the first one worked and the 2nd one failed." And Bad Art said: "Guys, I have a friend that got 2 years for that in jail... I hope no one would ever find this out."

Anna joked: "Imagine their parents switched them by accident and now they're switching back to themselves." And kate pointed out: "Meanwhile those machines [don't] work on my actual passport..."

Another user, Rytis Joseph Jan shared their own experience: "I flew with my twin [brother's] passport (not identical) once after I lost mine... Somehow got through."

Newsweek reached out to The Wade Twins for comment. We could not verify the details of the case.