A stowaway somehow ended up on a Delta Air Lines flight from New York City to Paris without a boarding pass, officials confirmed.
The woman boarded Delta Flight No. 264 from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, CBS News has learned. She was discovered while the plane was in the air and was taken into custody in Paris.
In a video posted to social media by a passenger, the captain can be heard over the plane’s intercom – after the plane landed in Paris – telling flyers that “we’re just waiting for the police to come on board, they could be here now. and they have instructed us to keep everyone on the plane until we get the extra passenger on the plane.”
The circumstances under which she was found were unclear and her name was not immediately released.
A Transportation Security Administration source told CBS News that the woman passed through a body scanner with advanced imaging technology at a checkpoint at JFK Airport after she appeared to somehow evade the document and ID check portion of the TSA process . Her bags were also scanned for prohibited items before she went to the gate and snuck aboard the plane, the source said.
In a statement to CBS News, a TSA spokesperson said it “could confirm that an individual without a boarding pass completed airport security without any prohibited items. The individual bypassed two identity verification and boarding status stations and was able to board the aircraft.”
In order to be present at an airline’s departure gate for boarding, an individual must pass a TSA security check.
After passing through TSA security, it is unclear how exactly the woman boarded the Boeing 767-400ER without showing a boarding pass or passport to Delta staff.
“Nothing is more important than things like safety and security,” Delta said in a statement. “As a result, Delta is conducting a comprehensive investigation into what may have occurred and will work with other aviation stakeholders and law enforcement to do so.”
The French police and the TSA are investigating separately. The woman may be subject to a civil fine or penalty for circumventing the document review process.
There is a new technology known as e-gates being rolled out at airports, using biometrics to check travel documents as part of the international boarding process. Such technology would have caught the stowaway.
