A woman was arrested for the second time in a week at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, days after allegedly boarding a Delta Air Lines flight without a ticket.
The Port of Seattle Police Department (POSPD) was dispatched Friday to assist the Transportation Security Administration with an individual “deemed not to be on official airport business,” an airport spokesperson told USA TODAY in an emailed statement.
“TSA attempted to make initial contact with the individual near Checkpoint 3 and called in POSPD for assistance,” the statement said. Police determined she had no airport business and arrested her for trespassing.
“The individual did not pass through any of the checkpoints,” the statement continued. The airport spokesperson did not identify the woman.
The woman reportedly told police she was picking up her sister, but “did not have a ticket and could not specify a real airline for the flight her sister was on,” according to local newspaper KING 5. The incident occurred days after she reportedly arrived had boarded a plane. Delta Air Lines flight to Honolulu, Hawaii, without a boarding pass on December 24.
An airline spokesperson confirmed that while the plane was taxiing, an unticketed passenger was discovered and the plane returned to the gate. The flyer was removed and TSA rescreened customers, among other security checks.
A Delta Air Lines plane under cloudy skies at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on June 27, 2024.
The incident resulted in a delay of 2 hours and 15 minutes.
“Since no business is more important than safety and security, Delta officials followed procedures to remove and subsequently arrest an unticketed passenger from the flight,” the airline told USA TODAY in an emailed statement. “We apologize to our customers for the delay to their travels and thank them for their patience and cooperation.” An investigation is underway.
The woman in that case was arrested for trespassing and making false statements, the airport spokesperson said.
A TSA spokesperson added that the passenger “bypassed the identity verification and boarding status stations” but underwent standard screening and was not carrying any prohibited items.
“TSA takes all incidents that occur at any of our checkpoints across the country seriously,” they told USA TODAY in an emailed statement. “TSA will independently review the circumstances of this incident at our travel document checkpoint in Seattle/Tacoma International.”
The incident is not the only one of its kind in recent months. A Delta flight from New York City to Paris landed in November with a stowaway.
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Woman who allegedly snuck aboard Delta flight arrested again at airport
