Another incident of a passenger attempting to fly without a ticket has come to light – this time on a Delta flight from Seattle to Hawaii. However, the individual was identified before the plane took off and taken into custody by law enforcement officials.
Another attempt to stow away
The incidents of passengers trying to get on a plane without a ticket are gradually on the rise. The most recent one occurred at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA) when an individual tried to travel to Honolulu on a 
Delta Air Lines
flight without purchasing a ticket.
The incident took place on Christmas Eve on Delta Flight 487 between Seattle and Honolulu. According to reports, the Airbus A321 had started taxiing out when cabin crew members discovered that one of the passengers on the plane did not possess a ticket for the journey.
Photo: Angel DiBilio | Shutterstock
The plane returned to the gate, and officers with the Port of Seattle Police Department were called there for “a report of a suspicious circumstance” on the flight. Currently, the individual’s identity is not known, but the subject departed the aircraft and was eventually found in one of the restrooms of the airport’s terminal.
All other passengers, too, were asked to deplane for security purposes. They all had to be escorted by the TSA and were rescreened before being allowed back into the aircraft. The flight was delayed by a couple of hours and eventually took off at 15:15. CNN Travel quotes Delta Air Lines’ statement,
“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. We apologize to our customers for the delay in their travels and thank them for their patience and cooperation.”
According to CNN Travel, the TSA said that the person in question went through the regular security screening at the airport but was not in possession of any prohibited item. Simple Flying has contacted both Delta Air Lines and Seattle Airport for comments.
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
Other incidents
There have been several cases of individuals trying to get on an airplane illegally. In November, it was reported that a passenger traveled all the way from New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) on a Delta Air Lines flight.
The aircraft was full, and the passenger reportedly hid inside the lavatories throughout the flight. The individual passed through TSA security, but there were bigger questions about the breach of several other layers of airport protocols and checkpoints, including at the boarding gate where the boarding pass is scanned.
Some other attempts to stow away can be quite dangerous, as was evident from a recent
incident involving a United Airlines aircraft
. The body of an unidentified man was discovered in the wheel well of a United Airlines aircraft. The plane had arrived from Chicago, and before that, it had a flight from São Paulo, Brazil.
Photo: Ronen Fefer | Shutterstock
Cases like these can often be fatal for the stowaway passenger as an airplane’s wheel well is often exposed to extreme temperatures and lack of oxygen at cruising altitude. Stowaways can experience hypoxia (oxygen deprivation) and hypothermia, which can result in unconsciousness and, in many cases, death.
Are digital advances making it easier to trick authorities?
With an increasing number of passengers opting for digital boarding passes, many are arguing that this practice itself may have led to several stowaway incidents. While these innovations are great for reducing paper waste, they have also helped certain individuals trick the authorities.
Photo: Dzerkach Viktar | Shutterstock
Earlier this year, a passenger boarded a Delta Air Lines flight from Salt Lake City to Austin using a photo of someone else’s boarding pass, which he had taken without permission. He successfully passed through security and boarded the plane. Stowaways are increasingly exploiting digital boarding passes and attempting to get on an aircraft illegally. Simple Flying has discussed this in detail in the article below.
Related
Examined: How Digital Boarding Passes Have Led To Multiple Stowaway Incidents In The US
Digital boarding passes are slowly replacing paper ones. However, recent stowaway incidents have raised some concerns.
