A female stowaway on Tuesday bypassed multiple security checkpoints at New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport and onto a Paris-bound Delta Airlines flight without a boarding pass or identification. According to the New York Post, the unidentified woman took advantage of the holiday madness to bypass two identity verification and boarding status stations to board the aircraft. She completed a full security screening before boarding, a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) spokesperson said, meaning that she did not have any prohibited items in tow and did not pose a security threat.
“TSA can confirm that an individual without a boarding pass completed security screening (including on-person and bags) without any prohibited items,” a TSA spokesperson told The Post. “The individual bypassed two identity verification and boarding status stations and boarded the aircraft,” they added.
Citing a passenger, the outlet reported that the woman was eventually discovered in the bathroom by a flight attendant toward the end of the more than seven-hour flight.
Passengers weren’t initially alerted about the stowaway, but once the plane landed in Paris, the plane crew announced that the French police were going to board that aircraft to deal with a “serious security issue”.
“Folks, this is the captain, we are just waiting for the police to come on board. They may be here now and they directed us to keep everyone on the airplane until we sort out the extra passenger that’s on the plane,” the captain announced.
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It’s unclear how the person bypassed the boarding stations. It also remains unclear if the passenger was arrested. Delta Airlines did not provide any additional information as the investigation is ongoing.
“Nothing is of greater importance than matters of safety and security,” a Delta spokesperson said in a statement. “That’s why Delta is conducting an exhaustive investigation of what may have occurred and will work collaboratively with other aviation stakeholders and law enforcement to that end,” they added.
