French police arrest stowaway after flight from New York
The female passenger was searched as usual at security but managed to slip past two identity and boarding checks
The woman boarded a Delta plane without any ID or boarding pass checks
Karolis Kavolelis/Shutterstock
A woman has been arrested at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport after managing to board a plane in New York without showing a boarding pass, ticket or passport to any airline staff.
She boarded the Delta Airline flight at New York’s JFK airport on Tuesday, November 26.
The woman had been checked by security with a scanner and her luggage was also checked as normal. She then went to the boarding gate and managed to board the plane without showing the usual documents to airline staff, ABC News reports.
The woman was identified as an ‘extra’ passenger during the flight and was arrested once the aircraft landed at Charles de Gaulle airport. The plane’s other passengers were asked to remain seated until police had boarded and taken her into custody.
“We are just waiting for the police to get on board... They have asked us to keep everyone on the plane until they deal with an extra passenger,” the pilot said to passengers after the plane landed.
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Investigation opened
French police and the FBI (US Federal Bureau of Investigation) have now opened an investigation to determine how the woman managed to board the plane. No details of her identity have yet been released, however police have confirmed that she was not carrying any prohibited items on the flight.
A spokesperson for the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) told CBS News that “a person without a boarding pass passed through airport security without any prohibited items…The individual bypassed two identity and boarding status checkpoints and was able to board an aircraft”.
A Delta representative also said that the airline is “conducting a full investigation into what may have happened” and is “working with other aviation stakeholders and law enforcement” to establish the facts of the case and to ensure it does not happen again.
