A stowaway was caught trying to nab a ride on a Delta Air Lines plane at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Christmas Eve.
The Seattle attempt follows another recent incident on a Delta airplane, that one involving an unticketed passenger who made it all the way to Paris from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport just before Thanksgiving.
In Tuesday’s case, the stowaway was discovered while Delta Flight 487 was still taxiing out to take off for Honolulu, Delta Air Lines told CNN. The Transportation Security Administration and the Port of Seattle confirmed the incident to CNN.
TSA told CNN that an individual did go through standard screening and did not possess any prohibited items. The person was able to bypass the identity verification and boarding status stations and got onto an aircraft at Seattle-Tacoma without a boarding pass, TSA said.
Once the person was discovered, the Airbus A321neo returned to the gate to remove the unticketed passenger, Delta said.
Officers with the Port of Seattle Police Department were dispatched to gate B1 at the airport around 1:05 p.m. for “a report of a suspicious circumstance” on Delta Flight 487.
“The aircraft returned to the terminal and the subject departed the aircraft. With the help of video surveillance, POSPD were able to locate the subject in a terminal restroom. The subject was arrested for criminal trespass,” the Port of Seattle said.
“The aircraft was swept by K9 as well as all areas in the terminal accessed by the subject. … The aircraft was deplaned and all passengers were escorted by TSA to return to the security checkpoint for rescreening,” it said.
Delta said the flight was delayed by two hours and 15 minutes and then continued to Honolulu at 3 p.m. after the rescreening.
“As there are no matters more important than safety and security, Delta people followed procedures to have an unticketed passenger removed from the flight and then apprehended,” the Atlanta-based airline said in a statement. “We apologize to our customers for the delay in their travels and thank them for their patience and cooperation.”
TSA said that it “takes any incidents that occur at any of our checkpoints nationwide seriously. TSA will independently review the circumstances of this incident at our travel document checker station at Seattle/Tacoma International.”
