A stowaway on a Honolulu-bound Delta Airlines flight was booted off the plane just before takeoff when crewmembers realized he didn’t have a ticket.
The unidentified person was apprehended after they were escorted off the flight at Seattle/Tacoma International Airport, Delta said in a statement Thursday.
“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,” Delta’s statement read in part.
“We apologize to our customers for the delay in their travels and thank them for their patience and cooperation.”
The Airbus A321neo aircraft — which was taxiing toward the runway when the freeloader was discovered — was delayed for more than two hours while the plane returned to the gate.
The Transportation Security Administration said in its own statement that the deadbeat passenger was able to get through security and had no items that weren’t allowed on a plane.
“The individual bypassed the identity verification and boarding status stations and boarded an aircraft at Seattle/Tacoma International (SEA) without a boarding pass,” the federal agency said.
“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 episode was reminiscent of a similar incident last month where an unhinged Russian woman snuck onto a JFK to Paris flight over Thanksgiving without a ticket, dodging airline workers who had their hands full due to the holiday rush.
Svetlana Dali was arrested at JFK after returning from her gratis trip to Paris but quickly let loose by a Brooklyn judge. Once free, she cut off her ankle monitoring bracelet before trying to sneak into Canada but was arrested at the border.
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