A stowaway attempted to board a Delta Air Lines flight from Seattle to Honolulu on Christmas Eve, but was caught by law enforcement before the plane took off.
The individual, who has not been identified, went through a TSA security checkpoint without a boarding pass and gained access to the loading bridge at the gate. However, authorities were alerted after a report of “a suspicious circumstance” and soon located the stowaway in a terminal restroom using video surveillance.
The plane returned to the gate while the individual was removed, and law enforcement later apprehended them. The passenger was arrested for criminal trespass and the flight was delayed by 2 hours and 15 minutes due to the incident.
This is not the first time a stowaway has boarded a Delta flight this holiday season. A similar incident occurred last month during the week of Thanksgiving, when a Russian woman with permanent U.S. residency evaded security at John F. Kennedy International Airport and managed to fly to Paris as a stowaway on a Nov. 26 Delta flight.
Delta Air Lines followed protocol and removed the individual from the plane before law enforcement took over, saying that safety and security are their top priorities. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) also confirmed that standard screening procedures were in place and that no prohibited items were found.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/delta-stowaway-passenger-christmas-eve-1cba13cceffae966c65df219b9505129