A Boeing 767-400ER, similar to the one pictured, had a stowaway from Paris to New York City. Photo courtesy Delta Airlines
Nov. 28 (UPI) — A woman was taken into custody after the stowaway flew aboard a Delta Air Lines flight from New York’s JFK International Airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, the airline said. On Tuesday, she was on Delta flight 264 without a boarding pass
The woman was discovered while the Boeing 767-400ER was in midair and was arrested in Paris, the airline told CNN.
French law enforcement and the U.S. Transportation Security Administration are separately investigating.
She could be subject to a civil penalty or fine for bypassing the document check process.
The woman had completed security screening and bypassed two identity verification and boarding status stations before boarding the aircraft, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Transportation Security Administration.
Her bags also were scanned for prohibited items before she went to the gate.
Passengers didn’t learn about the stowaway until the plane landed in Paris, said Rob Jackson, who was a passenger on the Delta flight.
“I didn’t actually see the person in question,” he 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,'” he said.
The captain in a video recorded by Jackson and posted on Instagram, can be heard saying: “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.”
Jackson said the flight was full. This type of planes seats 246 passengers.
“Nothing is of greater importance than matters of safety and security,” a Delta spokesperson said in a statement. “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.”
New e-gates technology involves using biometrics to check travel documents as part of the international departure boarding process. This technology would have caught the stowaway.