An unticketed airline passenger in Seattle managed to bypass security and airline officials before boarding a flight bound for Honolulu earlier this week – only to be apprehended as the aircraft taxied out, according to Delta Air Lines and the Transportation and Security Administration (TSA).
The fare-dodger, who has not been identified, got on Delta Air Lines Flight 487 at Seattle/Tacoma International Airport (SEA) on Dec. 24, which was headed to Hawaii’s capital just before Christmas.
But before the Airbus A321neo could take off, the freeloader was spotted and removed from the aircraft. The incident caused the flight to take off about two hours and 15 minutes behind schedule.
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“TSA can confirm an individual did go through standard screening and did not possess any prohibited items,” a TSA statement provided to Fox Business reads. “The individual bypassed the identity verification and boarding status stations and boarded an aircraft at Seattle/Tacoma International (SEA) without a boarding pass.”
It is unclear how the unticketed passenger was able to evade the checkpoints and get onto the aircraft.
“TSA 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,” the TSA statement continues.
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The agency says that it opens a civil case against any passenger when there is evidence that TSA regulations may have been violated.
Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines says that the individual was apprehended by law enforcement when the aircraft returned to the gate and the TSA conducted additional security checks, including customer 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,” a Delta spokesperson said. “We apologize to our customers for the delay in their travels and thank them for their patience and cooperation.”
The airline says an investigation is ongoing, but early indications are that the unticketed passenger boarded the flight at the gate without presenting a boarding pass. The Airbus A321neo typically seats around 180 to 220 passengers, according to Airbus.
The incident comes just weeks after a person allegedly sneaked onto a Delta Air Lines flight that departed John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City and wasn’t noticed until the aircraft was close to touching down in Paris.
She was caught after a flight attendant deduced she had been staying in the plane’s bathrooms for unusually long periods of time.
Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
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