A woman snuck past multiple security checkpoints and boarded a plane flying from New York City to Paris—and now investigators are trying to figure out how she pulled it off.
Despite not having a boarding pass, the woman was able to make it through a TSA screening, an identity-verification station, and a boarding status checkpoint, CNN reported. She was able to make her way onto the Delta aircraft, where she stowed away in a bathroom, where she was only found once the plane had touched down at Charles de Gaulle Airport.
The incident happened on Wednesday, ahead of Thanksgiving, on one of the busiest travel days of the year, with around 2.7 million making their way through airport security to board flights, according to TSA data.
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“I didn’t actually see the person in question. Apparently she hid in a lavatory all the way at the rear of the aircraft when we departed JFK,” Rob Jackson, a passenger, told CNN. “The first announcement to passengers that there was a problem was when we parked at the gate and they instructed us all to remain seated because French police were going to board the aircraft to deal with ‘a serious security issue.’”
Jackson took a video of an announcement made by the pilot, in which he says: “Folks, this is the captain, we are just waiting for the police to come on board. They may be here now and they directed us to keep everyone on the airplane until we sort out the extra passenger that’s on the plane.”
The woman, who is a U.S. green card holder, was reportedly not carrying any prohibited items. She has a Russian passport and is between 55 and 60 years old, an airport official in Paris told CNN. The woman, who had applied for asylum in France years before, will be sent back to the U.S. as she does not meet the requirements to enter Europe.
When she returns to America, she could face a civil penalty or be arrested by authorities in New York. However, they are not currently involved in the incident, a federal official told CNN.
So far, it’s unclear how the stowaway was able to bypass the security measures. But Delta has announced that it is launching its own “exhaustive investigation” into the matter.
“Nothing is of greater importance than matters of safety and security,” a spokesperson for the airline said in a statement to CNN. “That’s why Delta is conducting an exhaustive investigation of what may have occurred and will work collaboratively with other aviation stakeholders and law enforcement to that end.”
