Someone managed to sneak on a Delta flight to Paris without a boarding pass
Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images
- A stowaway sneaked onto a Delta flight from New York to Paris, evading detection.
- The individual bypassed security and identity checks, and may have been in a bathroom for takeoff.
- Delta said it was investigating the incident breach and collaborating with authorities.
A person managed to sneak onto a Delta Air Lines service to Paris and avoided being detected until the flight was nearly over.
The incident occurred on DL264 from New York's JFK Airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle on Tuesday.
It was first reported by JonNYC, a popular aviation insider on social media. A source told him the stowaway was believed to have been hiding in a restroom during takeoff.
A Transportation Security Administration representative told Business Insider that an individual without a boarding pass managed to complete a security screening.
The person also bypassed two identity verification and boarding status stations before boarding the aircraft.
.. They believe she was hiding in the lav during takeoff. 100%full flight with 0 open seats. Apparently the FAs became suspicious during the flight because this woman kept leaving one lavatory and then just going into a different one and staying inside for a long time.”
— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) November 27, 2024
A video posted on Bluesky appears to contain audio of the captain telling passengers that police in Paris had asked them to keep everyone on board "until we sort out the extra passenger that's on the plane."
JonNYC also reported that flight attendants became suspicious when the person would move between bathrooms after staying in each for a period of time.
A passenger also told JonNYC that the stowaway "wasn't detected until we were almost" at Paris.
A Delta representative told BI: "Nothing is of greater importance than matters of safety and security. 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." They declined to provide further details.
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.
It's far from the first example of people making it onto flights without boarding passes, but most are discovered before takeoff.
In March, a man was arrested after boarding a Delta flight in Salt Lake City having used a photo of another passenger's boarding pass, prosecutors said.
In August, a man boarded two flights in two days without a ticket at Munich airport. After being caught before takeoff the first time, he then managed to fly to Sweden.