Amid the Thanksgiving rush, a woman managed to get through airport security in New York without a boarding pass and board a flight to Paris, where she was taken into custody.
Delta Air Lines Flight 264 took off from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on Tuesday en route to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, with the stowaway somehow going unnoticed at the time. several media channels reported Wednesday.
“[The] person without a boarding pass completed security screening (including person and bags) without prohibited items,” a spokesperson for the Transportation Security Administration confirmed to JS in a statement. “The individual bypassed two identity verification and boarding status stations and boarded the aircraft.”
The agency added: “TSA will independently review the circumstances of this incident at our travel document checkpoint at JFK to ensure future incidents do not occur.”
Speaking to CNNRob Jackson, a passenger on the flight, recalled how there was an onboard announcement as the plane was parked at a gate in Paris, asking everyone to remain seated as police were boarding the plane.
“We’re just waiting for the police to come aboard,” the captain said saidadding that flight crews were told to “keep everyone on the plane until we arrange the additional passenger on the plane.”
Delta Air Lines said in a statement to JS that it is “conducting a comprehensive investigation into what may have occurred and will work with other aviation stakeholders and law enforcement to do so.”
No further details have been released about the woman’s identity or how she boarded the plane.
JS has contacted Charles de Gaulle Airport for comment.