Two British passengers, on a flight from London to Bangkok earlier this month, shared a series of similarities: their names, where they live, their appearance and particularly their passion for Thailand.

The two men, both named Mark Garland, discovered these similarities when one of them attempted to check-in for the flight. To his surprise, airport staff informed him that he had already checked in.

After almost an hour of confusion, it was discovered that there were two “Mark Garlands” booked on the same flight. The check-in staff did not cross-reference the booking numbers and checked likenesses instead, according to the Daily Express online.

“I stood at the check-in counter for 40 minutes while they tried to work out the problem,’ Mark told the Daily Express, adding “We then had to go to the boarding gate early to identify our cases.”

That is when the two Marks met each other and realised that they shared more than just a name. “I was shocked at how strange it was. People said we could be brothers,’ said the younger Mark, 58.

“I said, look, I’m Mark Garland,” showing him my passport. “He started laughing and opened his passport to show me his name.” Mark, 62, said, “They said there was another Mark Garland. They came to the bar and asked to see my passport. I was wondering what was going on.”

“I go to the desk and there’s a bloke who looks just like me, but he’s a bit bigger,” he said. The pair joked around, blaming each other for causing so many problems, but ended up sitting next to each other on the plane. They talked for the whole 11-and-a-half-hour flight.

The younger Mark is a bus driver from Trowbridge, Wiltshire, and the older Mark is a builder from Warmley, Bristol. They live just 15 miles away from each other and even figured out that builder Mark sometimes takes the bus which the younger Mark drives.

Apart from sharing names, friends and hobbies, they both love Thailand.

The older Mark talked about their conversation regarding Thailand. “I told him I’d been to Thailand 13 times and he told me he’d been 83 times.” Both are single dads with four kids, but their personal lives are different. ‘It was crazy. I have never known anything like it,’ said the older Mark.